Many of you reading this will perhaps be contemplating this, or will have actually successfully completed this Ironman triathlon distance many times before.

Relative success in these long distance triathlon races will stem from the ability of the triathlete to oxidise macronutrients at high rates and to transfer this energy to the mechanical energy needed to power the triathlete around the race course.

Ask Yourself…

Do you understand the above statement fully? 

Of all the hours, weeks and months swim, bike and running do you miss one of the aspects that will determine relative success?  

Solving A Common Ironman Problem

I was contacted by triathlete Christian Isakson (@lukeninetwenty) who, having already completed 6 Ironman Triathlon, had never got his nutrition, this fourth discipline of triathlon, right.

Christian is not only an experienced triathlete, he utilizes his sport to raise awareness not only for his own charity The Taxi Initiative and is also involved with Pro Triathlete Chris Lieto with the More than Sport initiative.

Despite having competed the Ironman distance that number of times he was in his own words “still uncertain about the correct nutritional approach”.

As a triathlete, Christian had been “off the bike” and onto the run holding a Kona World Championship slot a number of times, only to find that GI Distress caused his run performance to be sub optimal and he lost the slot.

I worked with Christian to ascertain what practices would assist him to achieve the best performance. The final ingredients towards optimizing Christian’s, and any long distance triathlon performance, will almost certainly come down to an appropriate and trialed nutrition plan, in the form of carbohydrate consumption, and the chosen pacing strategy for nutritional intake.

When working with athletes I like to explain to people what is going on and why, and then we can take determine the appropriate info with regards to training, racing or nutrition. I like to educate from the ground up and not just dictate programmes.

I started by explaining to Christian how the gut functions in terms of blood flow, which is the important aspect.

On IM race day you push everything to the limit: muscles, gut and brain and I think it is important to understand what is going on.   As an experienced athlete we then discussed his current plan, and looked at why it didn’t work and what we could do to change it.  There is a science behind appropriate fuelling and one must ascertain a strategy that works for them. I’d not advise adopting any strategy wholesale, but the principles are the same for all.

Essential Download:
Ironman Nutrition Guidelines

I can not stress enough that testing the strategy, like you would test any piece of race kit, prior to the race and under similar conditions; intensity, pace, effort, temperatures and humidity levels is a must.

So using these evidence based IM nutrition principals, Christian and I worked to ascertain what he could specifically do to achieve an appropriate ingestion of fuel.  We knew what pace he hoped to hold and working within appropriate grams per min of carbohydrates and with the recommended carbohydrate type we could dial in his race nutrition strategy.

How did Christian do?

Christian not only raced a 9:51 Personal Best at IM Texas but went on to race the Epic 5 which is 5 Ironman Triathlons over 5 days on 5 different Hawaiian Islands. Get your nutrition wrong there and you’re in for a long week!

This August will see Christian line up for the 10km swim; 420.2km bike and 84.3km run that is known as Ultraman Canada.  Christian will be utilising the tenets here to ensure success – we wish him well!

]]> http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/ironman-nutrition-overcoming-gi-distress/feed/ 0 http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/ironman-nutrition-overcoming-gi-distress/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KineticRev/~3/9O8kiiZ6NcQ/ http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/asics-gel-noosafast-road-running-shoe-review/#comments Sat, 18 May 2013 10:48:42 +0000 Matthew Imberman http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/?p=9452 Asics Gel NoosaFast

If you’re a shoe geek, which I most certainly am, then you might be familiar with the following scenario: you buy a new pair of shoes on a whim while at your LRS (local running store, for the uninitiated) bring them home and excitedly install them in your shoe closet (what, you don’t keep a closet of running shoes?) and then promptly forget about them because you have a closet full of running shoes and how can you honestly remember them all.

Such was the fate of the Gel NoosaFast ($100/£95) from Asics, which I purchased after a tipsy brunch one weekend and promptly forgot about until midway through my spring marathon season. Let this be a lesson: don’t buy running shoes under the influence, or if you do at least remember to use the bloody things! In any case, I’m glad I eventually found them, tucked behind a worn-out pair of old racing flats, because they’ve been a real treat to use.

Form

The NoosaFast weighs 6.6 oz (187 gm) in a size 9 and has a stack height of 20mm at the heel and 16mm at the toes (4mm drop). It features a no-sew mesh upper with trippy, Australian-inspired overlays, a structured heel counter, and both conventional and triathlon laces (bungee laces). The sock liner provides a touch of cushioning and ample drainage via small perforations on its underside; and although it’s lightly glued in place, it seems easy to remove if you want to swap in your own or go without.

The midsole is composed of Asics’s proprietary Solyte material with a silicon gel cushioning system in the heel. The midsole is also vented to allow for increased breathability and moisture drainage.

The outsole has high abrasion rubber in a latticed pattern that spans almost the entirety of the shoe. It also features an s-shaped, vertical flex groove running from heel to toe that Asics has dubbed the Guidance Line .

(Sidebar: I know brands need to differentiate their offerings from their competitors, and I don’t doubt that some of their patented technologies have beneficial effects; however, the amount of seemingly needless acronymization and technical repackaging of common terms is really getting to me. It would be refreshing to see a company describe their shoes in human terms. Do we really need to keep inventing new ways to refer to standard features on shoes? Sidebar over.)

I’ve got to take a second to talk about the looks of these shoes: it’s like the designer had an acid flashback in the Australian Outback. They’re certainly eye catching, but possibly not everyone’s cup of tea. Personally, I like a bit of flash so I don’t mind when strangers comment on my rasta racers; however, it would be welcome to have some simpler colorways to choose from.

Fit

I’ve tried a variety of models from Asics and have yet to find one that fits: either they were too narrow, had too much arch support, or a weird midfoot bump. I was skeptical that the NoosaFast would be comfortable especially since it’s a racing shoe, which often means they are meant to fit more snuggly than an every day trainer. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they felt great on my feet and I didn’t even have to size up from my usual size (12 US).

I have somewhat wide feet with low arches and I’m sensitive to overly supportive shoes. The NoosaFast didn’t bother me at all, despite having a structured heel counter and some arch support. I think despite the conventional fit of these shoes (slightly narrow from toe box to heel) they actually accomodate a range of foot shapes. The seamless mesh upper has just the right amount of give, allowing your foot to feel secure but not pinched. Asics has a real winner with this upper and I hope it translates to some of their other models. I tried Ascis’s Gel Lyte33 2 recently and generally liked how it performed but was turned off by the upper, which seemed bulky and restrictive to me by comparison. In an ideal world I’d widen the toe box to allow my toes to splay.

I don’t think I’ve ever run sockless in my life, but the seamless interior of the NoosaFast was soft enough to tempt me into trying. I took them on a few 6 mile sockless runs and didn’t notice anything on the interior rubbing me the wrong way. I should note that the heel cup extends a little high on the achilles and caused some irritation towards the end of one run, although this was never an issue when I was wearing socks. I aslo noticed some heel slippage with the bungee laces installed, but it didn’t affect my form and this is something I’m particularly sensitive to. Overall I found the fit more secure with the stock laces, but the fact that the bungee ones are included is a nice touch.

Function

Depending on what you read, the NoosaFast is billed either as a replacement to Asics’s HyperSpeed 5 racing flat or a brand new model targeting road runners and triathletes. That they’ve been designed to use sockless, have an extended heel tab to aid in entry, bungee laces, and drainage holes certainly makes a case for the latter. Either way, at 6.6 oz they are sort of in between a traditional racing flat  and some of the new lightweight, low-drop trainers like the Kinvara 4 or Karhu Flow3 Trainer, to name a few. Personally, I prefer the feeling of the NoosaFast to something like the Kinvara, as they are just a little bit firmer, allowing for a quicker turnover and less soreness after long runs.

The NoosaFast felt light and responsive on speed days, but also surprisingly comfortable on long runs. I think Asics really nailed the cushioning, which feels spongy but not sloppy, and I think there’s enough support to use them for marathon distance, assuming you don’t mind the somewhat snug toe box. I have lighter and firmer flats I’d use for shorter races, but I think the NoosaFast would be a good option for half-marathon and longer, where I like a bit of cushioning.

My favorite thing about this shoe is how smoothly it transitions under foot. I don’t know if it’s the  combination of outsole rubber or the lugless/nubless design, but they feel exceedingly smooth and my form feels locked in when I’m wearing them. They also have great traction on wet surfaces, despite the lack of more traditional gripping elements, and I’ve noticed less wear to the lateral part of the midfoot, which is where I usually  wear down my shoes the quickest. I can’t honestly say if Asics’s Guidance Line technology adds anything beneficial. It doesn’t seem to greatly increase torsional flexibility in comparison to other brands that lack a vertical flex groove and it seems like more marketing technology to me, but I don’t notice any deleterious effects either.

So what didn’t I like about the NoosaFast? To start, the drainage holes on the bottom. Maybe this is a necessary feature if you suffer from excessive foot sweating. Personally, I found it a nuisance because it meant my feet were extra soggy on rainy days. In fact, I’ve yet to hear anyone say they love a shoe, but wish it had more holes in the bottom. I think the highly perforated sock liner and airy mesh upper should provide enough cooling that Asics could seal up the outsole ports. I’d also like a wider toe box. I know they’re selling the NoosaFast as a racer, hence the narrower fit, but I think this shoe would have greater success as a lightweight trainer that you can race in, and a wider toe box would make the fit more universal.

Final Thoughts

I’ve greatly enjoyed my time with the Asics Noosa Fast, which for me occupies a sweet spot by being very capable at fast speeds, but with enough cushioning to handle long miles. In the end I can’t help but feel like Asics faces a challenge in marketing the NoosaFast as it’s not really fish nor fowl. The triathlete-specific options could turn off some hardcore runners; and while it’s certainly capable as a racing shoe, I feel like with a few tweaks it would be a great Kinvara of PureFlow competitor. The NoosaFast has only slightly less cushioning than the Kinvara, but is 1.4 oz. lighter and feels more stable to me underfoot, probably because of the lower stack height (20/16mm for the NoosaFast vs. 22/18 mm for the Kinvara 4).

My suggestions to Asics would be to nix the drainage holes, slightly widen the toe box, lower the heel tab, and make the design a little less similar to a Grateful Dead blacklight poster—voilà, instant lightweight daily trainer! I should note that if you’re new to lightweight, low-drop shoes you’re going to want to transition slowly, so don’t go out and buy the NoosaFast (or a similar shoe) and start putting tons of miles on them. If you’ve been comfortably running in a 4-6mm drop shoe and are curious to try something lighter, I think the NoosaFast would be a good option.

I think the NoosaFasts also represent a pretty good bargain. Sure, at $100/£95 they can’t be called cheap, but they only cost marginally more than traditional racing flats, they’re on par with shoes like the PureFlow and Kinvara, and they’re actually quite a bit cheaper than other triathlon-friendly shoes like the Asics Gel Noosa Tri ($125) or Altra 3Sum ($130). Granted, I’ve got less than 100 miles on  my pair, but I’m seeing less wear than on some of my other daily trainers exhibited at this tage and the cushioning still feels great.

In summation, regardless of what the designers were smoking during the aesthetic development phase (woah dude, the colors!), I applaud them on crafting a comfortable, versatile, and lightweight shoe that perfroms admirably and turns heads.

]]> http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/asics-gel-noosafast-road-running-shoe-review/feed/ 0 http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/asics-gel-noosafast-road-running-shoe-review/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KineticRev/~3/lGgaNLm-8lY/ http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/three-standing-core-exercises/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 18:35:45 +0000 James Dunne http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/?p=9327 By way of a brief response to a recent article in Triathlete Europe named Ditch The Crunches, I want to share a few ideas about how to train your core muscles in a way more specific to the movement demands of your sport.

Crunches, Plank Holds and other floor-based core exercises make up much of the traditional approach to core training. However, as we all run in a weight bearing posture, surely it makes sense for those engaging in running sports to train and condition the core muscles in a standing environment.

I rather like many of the exercises chosen by Jene Shaw in the article mentioned above. In addition, I’ve added a few examples of some fun and challenging standing core exercises.

Medicine Ball Woodchop

Pallof Press

Medicine Ball Chest Pass

What’s Functional For Your Sport?

Functional Training has become a real buzz-word in the fitness industry over recent years. I remember a few months back having an interesting conversation with a group of Physical Therapists and coaches on Twitter, discussing the definition of the term Functional.

What is functional? Well, my view is this:

With no context (i.e. not knowing what the athlete is training for – their end ‘function‘), the term functional training is completely abstract and useless.

However, if we know that athlete A is a 100m sprinter, and athlete B is a marathon kayaker, we can then observe the different movement, postural and loading demands placed on the two very different athletes in training and competition. With this information, we can then determine what constitutes the true functional demands on each athlete. Subsequently we can come up with two separate functional training regimes – one for each set of needs.

So, functional training for triathlon, functional training for running, functional training for swimming, functional training for football, functional training for hockey, etc… are all valid and important terms in my opinion. But functional training as a stand-alone phrase seems a bit lacking to me!

]]> http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/three-standing-core-exercises/feed/ 0 http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/three-standing-core-exercises/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KineticRev/~3/1vjGZvxUkvA/ http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/quick-and-easy-chicken-provence/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 16:29:28 +0000 Susan Harrell http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/?p=9302 Chicken can be boring and redundant at times. However, it is a lean and healthy protein that we all need so we must be creative at times. This is a super easy and fast dinner that should take…. maybe, 30 minutes from start to finish. Serves 4 or maybe 2

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
• Herbes de Provence
• All-purpose flour (for dusting)
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Heat oil in a large ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat.
• Season chicken with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence. Dust with flour; tap off excess.
• Cook, meaty side down, 5 minutes.
• Turn over; cook 1 minute.
• Add garlic and shallot; stir 30 seconds.
• Add wine; cook 1 minute. Add stock; cook 30 seconds.
• Add lemon juice.
• Transfer pan to oven.
• Bake until chicken is cooked through, 9 to 13 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to cutting board.
• Place pan over medium heat; simmer sauce 1 minute. Add butter; swirl pan until butter incorporates and sauce thickens slightly.
• Cut each breast into 4 slices; transfer each to a plate; top with sauce and garlic.

Serve With: Steamed or sautéed spinach. I’m also a sucker for baby roasted potatoes with a dish like this!!!

NB: If using slightly bigger chicken breasts… Use 2 chicken breasts and keep everything else the same.

Question From Emma

Hi Coach,

I have achieved some success as an age grouper in long distance triathlon. I have won my AG at races and qualified and raced well at both the IM and 70.3 world championships. I’m considering giving up work for a year and race with a view to potentially giving it a go as a Pro.

I wondered if what you would ask, discuss with, and advise someone in my position?

What do you consider it takes and what are the key attributes for success?

Response From Coach Neil Scholes

Initially I would look to understand: what is your sporting background; what are your short medium and long term goals in triathlon; where do you see yourself in the sport in 3 months; 1 year; 3 years; what is your dream goal in the sport; what have you or are you willing to give up to meet your goals; what are you not willing to give up; are you just seeing how this goes or are you in your mind (I don’t care what you told your Boss/family etc) wanting this to be your life? It will help me to understand where you are and where you are currently going. I would have you ask yourself; do you want a career like Bree Wee or Mirinda Carfrae?

There are a number of principles that I consider it takes and you will see the majority of your future professional competitors exhibit and all coaches in all sports will champion these. You will already exhibit many of these yourself but these are the pillars of any coaching success story.

The first is consistency of training and recovery. Consistency is the most fundamental aspect of improving your performance in the most efficient way. When training as a professional athlete you must ensure you are setting a plan that is achievable but limit your personal time constraints to achieve your training and professional/sponsor commitments make sure you allow for recovery.

For example, take two athletes who manage 80 hours of training over a four week period.

Athlete A trains:

Week 1 – 24hrs
Week 2 – 13hrs
Week 3 – 17 hrs
Week 4 – 26hrs

Athlete B trains:

Week 1 – 19hrs
Week 2 – 21hrs
Week 3 – 23hrs
Week 4 – 17hrs

Athlete B is probably more likely to remain injury free by only making small increases in their training load and will also improve fitness more efficiently by taking adequate recovery. Coaches can help you stay on a consistent path and sometimes limit what you do!

Composure in tough situations is the second attribute I see it taking. You don’t always see this, you may remember Norman Stadler on the Queen K breaking down as he couldn’t get his tyre off but there are no two ways about it; endurance racing is hard both physically and mentally. You’ve been involved in the sport so you know this but as a pro it is hightened. When you enter the final stages of a race it is not always the strongest or fittest athlete who wins – again look at Macca v’s Andreas in Kona. Do not underestimate the power of your mind. This is especially important for longer distance racing. This is tough to say but don’t ever be “happy with” where you are – “I’m top ten I’m happy with that so I’ll ease off” – stay cool and stay focussed and push bloody hard to the finish.

Common Sense. Endurance racing is not brain surgery. You need to train/recover and race “smart”. Keep things simple. Racing should just be an extension of training – this is all TeamTBB do which is why they can race so often. Simulate “racing” regularly in training, stick to the simple points above and you are sure to do well.

SPECIFICITY. This one is in capital letters deliberately. In my mind this is an important one. You can’t train to be good at everything at all times. This actually is the principle of specificity. Basically, the principle says that if you want to be good at something you must exactly and precisely train for its demands. The demands will be unique and so should the training. (If you want to swim the Channel you need to swim open water, if you want to do triathlon then you need to swim, bike and run at true race pace – this will mean most runs are quite dull as you can go a lot faster but come race day you will merely go through the process you have gone through so many times in training. Ironman is a purely aerobic sport so the closer you get to your most important challenge the more like the race your training must become.

I’m not trying to tell you how to suck eggs, so before you think “I’m doing all of this” what I’m saying is the difference is it is now your “job” to DO all of this.

Some other important pillars of success are :

Patience – Look how long Julie Dibbens, Rinny, Caroline Steffen all waited before giving Ironman a shot. Many quality IM performers weren’t on any elite triathlon programme as a junior and have done their time and hard yards coming through the ranks of the AG world as a “journeywoman” and found a niche particularly in the longer races. You have built up a solid background and now as a professional you can build on that but be patient. Rachel Joyce may be a good example of this.

Expectations and realistic pacing – We must know what you are capable of. This is extremely important from both a mental and physical standpoint. Are you living the pro life style for a while and see what happens or are you determined to be “professional” and perform as a professional? Any professional athlete who toes the starting line, having made all of the necessary sacrifices, should have the HOPE of winning. But, when it comes to pacing their effort, these same athletes need to be very realistic of what they can expect of their bodies, based upon what they have been able to accomplish in training. It is not uncommon to see an athlete who WANTS to go 9:00 in Ironman but is only CAPABLE of going 9:30, over-pacing the bike, having trouble with their nutrition, and not coming within an hour of their “goal” time, thus being extremely disappointed in their efforts and the sacrifices made along the way. Frustration is taken out on the preparation, when the appropriate target should be the athlete’s expectations and pacing. Developing a pacing plan and setting appropriate expectations are not rocket science. Using your training indicators, you should be able to predict, quite closely, what your finish time, and race execution strategy should look like.

I think lastly when you are a professional it is not about getting paid to do what you do, if that were important then we’d all be golfers (32nd in the Masters gets more than Pete Jacobs for winning Kona) or tennis players.

It is about being professional in your outlook and behaviours.

Where a coach or coaching team can help in this process is to take the burden off the athlete, to look outward which allows the athlete to look inward and just concentrate and allow the athlete to be professional in the process of training, racing and recovery. A coach can be a sounding block and provide independent, objective words and advice and an independent shoulder when it is needed away from family and loved ones but coaches can also be perceived as being hard because they may not let you take an extra day off – but they will always have a reason for doing so. A coach might get you to ease off in a race to succeed in another but again they will have reasons for that.

These are all things to consider. I hope this provides some food for thought Feel free to get in touch to chat further!

Question From Mike

I’ve guaranteed entry into a marathon next year and I’m doing it.

Apart from the obvious increase in distance, what’s the difference between training for and racing a half marathon versus a full marathon?

Response From Coach Neil Scholes

Thanks for the question and congratulations on your guaranteed entry, it’s an interesting question as in some respects there are fewer differences between a half and a full marathon than one might imagine and perhaps the differences that exist are not just the ones you might expect.

Firstly what separates the marathon and indeed the half marathon from say a 5km race is that you run the bulk of the longer race, if not it all, below your lactate threshold. You therefore will not build up a whole lot of lactic acid, you won’t suffer from local muscular stress (you don’t see many marathon runners blowing out a hamstring), your rate of breathing is relatively comfortable throughout and if you monitored your heart rate it won’t be anywhere near as high as shorter races. The marathon and the half marathon distance however will BOTH differ from shorter races in these regards.

So despite these similarities when compared to shorter races there are a number of differences between a half and a full and as you acknowledge in your question the distance is longer, it is as a result of this distance and hence time running that we see those differences appear. Hence in a marathon the extent to which there is a demand on carbohydrate fuel supply is greater, the body temperature mechanics differ and the maintenance of adequate body fluids will differ and all can affect performance. In other words you will need to take onboard more fuel in a marathon, in a similar way to any endurance event, depending on your goals, speed and hence time on the course; you will be out there for longer and will get hotter and will require more fluid. In a marathon fatigue appears in a more subtle way than in a half; it is sometimes difficult to accept that while you are racing at relatively comfortable intensities that the urge to slow down may be ever present.

Pacing is important for all races but is especially so for a marathon. Get it wrong and go off too hard in a marathon and you will know about it. If you are racing for a time and close to your limit then “too hard” might be 10s per mile too fast. Depending on fitness level this will be far more apparent in a full rather than a half.

Training will be different and will take up a greater proportion of your time and the time you take to recover from sessions will be longer. Marathon training will have a greater impact on your family, your work. your social life.

Depending on ability then actual training schedules will vary. As elite runners can cover the distance of a marathon in the time it takes a reasonable runner to race a half then if an Elite were “only” racing up to Half Marathon distance then they would effectively follow a 10k type training programme. The majority of their training would be threshold and interval work.

For non-elites however and assuming say a 2 hour finish for the half then the stresses would be very similar to a marathon and the training would be a reduced distance version of a marathon training schedule – long runs, race pace runs and above race pace efforts. So for an elite there is little difference between a 10k and a half for a non-elite there is a significant change in emphasis. For a non-elite both a full and half are sub threshold runs and the differences are merely the time it will take you due to the distance and the amplified effect that has on you.  So, whilst you say in your question “apart from the distance” it is this very distance that may cause you to notice a difference.

If you are adequately coached, prepared and ready mentally and physically for either a half or a full marathon then physiologically you will be able to execute your process driven race plan and you will not particularly notice too much of a difference. Go into either but more so a full unprepared and the difference will be readily apparent. You may even find it an easier recovery from the relatively slower pace of the full compared to the faster half; despite the increased pace of the latter. This again will relate to preparedness.

When training for either a half or a full your body must adapt to using fuel sources, you must develop a strong aerobic profile, you must be able to replace diminishing body fluid and maintain an optimal temperature in order to perform at your optimal level but all of these have increased importance in a marathon over a half marathon. Finally it is important to have a well planned taper leading into the marathon and this may differ from your tried and trusted half marathon taper.

Good luck in your race and let us know how you get on.

Question From Alex

Do you have any stretches you can recommend for getting at the peroneal muscles? I foam roll them but have yet to find a stretch that really works…

Response From Coach James Dunne

Hi Alex,

Great question. As you rightly say, stretching the Peroneal muscles (AKA Fibularis muscles) of the lower leg isn’t easy. In contrast to how easily I achieve a stretch in my hamstrings, for example, it’s actually rather difficult to take the ankle through sufficient range to put the Peroneal muscles in enough of an end-of-range position to feel an isolated stretch.

Leigh Boyle (@LeighBoyle) from Athletes Treating Athletes has put together a great video highlighting some of the self-treatment options you have for getting stuck-in to your Peroneal muscles. In the video she particularly focuses on Peroneus Longus.

Soft Tissue Techniques & Stretches – Peroneals

N.B. Watch right to the end for a great couple of stretches! If you don’t have a stretching strap, try using a towel…

Hope this helps

The harder you race the more critical Ironman nutrition and fuelling becomes. Intensity is one factor that determines the rate calories are burned and the composition of fuel used. To race Ironman successfully involves balancing that intensity with a tried and trusted nutrition plan to maintain effort throughout the race.

Successful long distance triathlon racing involves balancing intensity and nutrition to maintain effort to the finish. These events require prolonged durations of moderate to high intensity exercise, which mostly use energy from the oxidation of fat and carbohydrate in the range of 4,500 and 11,500kcal. During long distance triathlon racing, athletes should pace themselves by performing at speeds that resemble those practiced in training and by adhering to a pre determined and appropriate Ironman nutrition plan.

Question From Becky

I was wondering if you could recommend a series of warmup/mobility exercises I could add in before I get in the pool and on the bike?

Response From Coach James Dunne

Hi Becky,

Great question. We cover so much on this blog in terms of run specific mobility exercises, it’s of course important fot triathletes in particular to have a set of great exercises for swim and bike workouts too.

Thankfully, the fantastic Aurelie Almeida at TheTriTouch has created this great free download, showing some simple mobility exercises and stretches to try.

I hope these help

Follow @RunStrengthWOD

Runner’s Touch

Frog Stretch