Image Post

Triathlon training with diabetes — What is different to non-diabetics: Rest days and rest periods

When it comes to certain aspects of training, diabetics needs to be aware that “we are different”, and the normal approach doesn’t apply.

 

Days off or resting phases is one of those situations. At our training plans, we don’t schedule days off unless there is any specific situation with each individual, with our approach you should be training every day, and let the days off comes naturally, be it for a professional or social commitment, or if you feel just too tired on any specific day(s), for those situations is OK to take the rest.

And how does this differs for Diabetics athletes? Why can’t it be just the same?

If the diabetic athlete trains everyday, to a point that he is forced to take a day off, that means this athlete was training hard or long enough to really create a huge insulin sensibility, than out of a sudden, you take the day off, only sit on the coach and have a few extras snacks.

This is aggressive for your body to handle, and your blood glucose levels won’t be very stable at all, since in a matter of a day, you are shifting a healthy/fit routine, to the couch potato one. Is very likely that for the later meals of that day, you will require more insulin than the usual, and is likely that you will need more insulin over night, or your blood glucose levels will be fairly high in the morning after, which creates that tired feel, and you think you need one more day off, and this can get very hard to get out.

How to handle the deep fatigue then? Active Recovery!

If you are into a consistent training routine, one training session, seven times a week, you will be way better by taking 2-3 easy days, than a complete day off. The active recovery workout only needs to be 20-30min long, if possible, include some short 20sec all out effort to work on your hormonal balance and increase metabolism (which helps insulin sensivity), stick to the diet you are used to, don’t overeat thinking that the extra calories will restore your glycogen stores, as with the reduced training and the usual diet, you will be carboloading anyways, no need to force it.

Then after 2-3 days of very easy training, see if you can get back into your plan, focus on getting the volume done first, then slowly build up the intensity to normal levels.

Other than keeping your blood glucose levels down, this approach has also benefits for the non-diabetic athlete. You get something done every day, this avoids the athlete to make up for the lost sessions, as highly motivated athletes are likely to train harder after a forced day off.  You also keep your metabolism high, avoid that bloated feel, and stay loose, which makes easier for your return into the plan, then once you are settle into it, avoid to get into that deep fatigue level again.

Taper:

Taper is nothing else than freshening up for a race. You can do it in many diffent ways:

1) Reduce training intensity
2) Reduce training volume
3) Decrease training frequency (session per week)
4) Taking extra days off
For diabetics, this order is exactly what you should do for your taper. You should be able to taper based on #1 and #2 until 3 days out of race day, then you can do less sessions, especially if the race requires tapering, and of course, as always, avoid the days off, even a 15min easy jog is much better than completely rest.

For that reason, since you can’t have an aggressive resting period, you might want to start your taper a little bit earlier, we usually do a 2 week taper, so for diabetics athletes, I would recommend starting reducing intensity with 2 ½ week to your race day.

All in all, just make sure you don’t follow general training guidelines that you feel are not right for diabetics, as a diabetic, you are different, and requires a different training approach, let your coach knows all the ins and outs of diabetes and don’t be afraid to create something that works specifically for you, but is not “right” in terms of conventional approach, since you are different in a way!

Vinnie

 

Image Post

Triathlon Training with Diabetes: Tapering and Insulin dosage

Have you ever noticed how you feel sluggish when you are tapering on race week? Even with a reduced load, you feel tired all the time, hungry and that create a huge self doubt if you are fit enough for the race or you won’t get enough time to rest.

 

Why does that happens?

 

When we switch into ‘taper’ mode after a long period of consistent training, we make a journey from one state of physicality into another. What is happening is that your body is moving from “fight” mode into “heal” mode. The training systems that were on fire are shutting down because you are no longer subjecting your body to the physical training (stress) stimuli.

 

This change means that the balance of hormones in your body is changing. The level hormones secreted to sustain your high levels of physical exertion during training is dropping, while the level of “restoration” hormones is increasing. This change translates to a sensation of fatigue in the body.

 

One of those hormones that are changed is insulin. You were training hard and long, your muscles cells were always on the need of glycogen, it means that a tiny amount of  insulin, was enough to refill your cells.

 

But as you decrease training hours and intensity, you will need more insulin to cope with the ratio of grams of carbohydrate & units of insulin.

 

Basically, I had to use 3 times more insulin on the day before a race, compared to what I was using on normal training days. Of course that to realize that, I had many pre-race Saturdays of high blood glucose levels, it took me a few tapers to understand what was happening with me, why I needed so much more insulin for the same size and sort of meals.

 

The basal insulin mentioned below is above is supposed to cover only the sugar that is released by your liver during the day and night. The healthy athlete produces only one sort of insulin, while most diabetics that are not in an insulin-pump treatment, are on 2 or more types of insulin. On the top o the basal insulin, that I injected myself every night I had to take a “bolus”, that is, a super fast-acting insulin that would cover all my meals.

 

The numbers are scary, here are some examples:

 

  • Units of Basal Insulin and blood glucose released by your liver.

–I needed 10 units per day in normal training days

 

–For a race on Sunday, I would need to increase this

number by Wednesday to Friday up to 20 units (100%)

 

–As I usually take a day off on Friday, by Saturday, my insulin reception was so poor, that I would take up to 30 units of ‘basal’ insulin (that’s 3 times more than the normal!!!)

 

  • Units of fast-acting insulin and Grams of Carbs:

–A normal breakfast with ~100g of carbs, required 5 units of “fast-acting insulin”, that was usually after my first training session in the morning (more about timing of meals coming out soon!)

 

–The same 100g of carbs in the morning before the race, required up to 16 units of fast-acting insulin.

 

 

Remember that for your next taper. Don’t over eat, as your body is already under a huge load and hormonal change, rest properly, sleep well and let your muscles get full replenished with CHO for the race day.

 

Vinnie

Image Post

Triathlon Training with Diabetes: Stress, Adrenalin, Insulin and blood glucose levels

No, those are not butterflies in your stomach when you toe the line at a triathlon start and are waiting for the gun — that is one of the symptoms from adrenaline: when one is nervous, blood is pulled away from the stomach and sent into the muscles.

 

Adrenalin is a “fight” hormone, and plays a central role in the short-term stress reaction. It is released from the adrenal glands when danger threatens or in an emergency. Such triggers may be threatening, exciting, or environmental stressor conditions such as a triathlon start!

When secreted into the bloodstream, it rapidly prepares the body for action in emergency situations. The hormone boosts the supply of oxygen and glucose to the brain and muscles, while suppressing other non-emergency bodily processes (digestion in particular). This reduced blood flow, in turn, causes the stomach to temporarily shut down.

Adrenaline has the opposite effect of insulin.  The resulting rise in blood sugar enables the fermentation of glucose in the muscles. Adrenaline furthermore reinforces these effects, because it increases the secretion of glucagon (a hormone with the same effects as adrenaline) and decreases the release of insulin.

As a diabetic, I had no natural insulin to counter-effect this process when I was racing (who doesn’t get nervous before a triathlon anyway?), so it took me many races of super high blood glucose levels to really understand that no matter how low my sugar leves were BEFORE THE START, once I was on the bike, it had skyrocketed!! There were a few times that my glucometer read “HI”  — that means the levels were so high that the meter couldn’t read it.

Once I was 100% sure this wasn’t a one-off process, I started to give myself a huge amount of insulin as soon as I jumped on the bike — to be more precise, eight (8) units of fast-acting insulin, more than enough to cover 120grams of carbohydrate in a “normal” situation. Now if you are diabetic you understand why it took me so many races of high glucose levels to be confident enough and inject 8u of insulin before even testing that. Outside of racing it would have killed me or at best, put me in a hypoglycemia coma (no sugar available for the brain).

Once with this part figured out and controlled, I got into that “steady-state” in pacing where I had no more pre-start tension and was focused on the race; my blood levels were not affected my adrenalin anymore and I could go back to my good old “calories VS insulin” combination.

And what can the “non-diabetic” learn from this?

— Race start: Don’t over do it in the gels and sports drinks. Even if your sugar level is low, it will raise some in those last 5 minutes before the race start. I remember when I first started racing, I use to wear a Heart Rate monitor, 130bpm while just there, standing waiting for the start, wasn’t a surprise.

— First few minutes on the bike: DO NOT EAT – No calories at all, not even sports drinks or energy gels, not only there is very limited blood that will access your stomach at this stage to digest and absorb anything, but since capillaries in arms are open and in legs are closed, your heart is forced to work hard to pump to legs. Start the bike EASY (VERY EASY if in an ironman) for the first few minutes to let capillaries in arms shut down and legs open up; blood sugar get stable, adrenalin loses effect, then eat/drink.

Be aware of your hormones, race faster!

Vinnie

 

Image Post

Challenge Laguna Phuket Course Review

 

Learn by doing! Join our next ironguides The Method training camp in Phuket 2-3 November, 2013 — Clich HERE for more info.

Video from ironguides Phuket Training Camp in 2012

The traditional Laguna Phuket Triathlon, is a well-known event among triathletes based in Asia. It provides a mix of a destination race on the beautiful island of Phuket combined with the challenges of a middle distance course with heat and hills, add to that a party atmosphere and you have a very unique race.

 

Back in 2010 the organizers have announced an Ironman 70.3 event on the following weekend of the traditional race. This has added spice to the event as now beginners can step up and try the half ironman distance, and this year the race will become a “Challenge” event, same course as an Ironman, but from different organizers and branding. Challenge has a better reputation within the athletes.

 

Swim (1.9km)

Apart from being one hundred meters longer, the swim lay out is exactly the same as the Laguna Phuket Triathlon.

 

A beach-run start is always a fun way to begin a race. However, unless you are trying to place in your age group, take this run relatively easy: otherwise you will spike your heart rate and it will take a couple of hundred meters in the water to catch your breath.

 

The first half of the swim is held in the beautiful waters of Bangtao Beach. There are usually no currents and waves which makes the first part of the swim relatively easy.
Then you run another 100 meters across the beach to dive into the resort’s lagoon. This is a challenge since the ocean water has a higher density than the lagoon (or a swimming pool), so there is a sinking feeling for the first few hundred meters of the next swim section.

You can simulate this change in training with the following swim set:

Choice warm-up
[3x100m hard with the pull buoy – 10sec rest
3x100m hard without pull buoy – 10sec rest
2x100m very easy recovery – 60sec rest]
X2-3 (do the set above two or three times, depending on your experience)

Swimming with a pull buoy helps you float better. It also changes your balance and technique in the water. When you take the pull buoy off and do another several hundred meters of repeats at race-pace effort, you will feel the difference in terms of how high you are in the water—exactly the same way you feel when you switch from the ocean to the lagoon in the Phuket swim!

Bike (90km)
Once done with the swim, the transition is very straightforward and simple. You will be directed to the mounting line. The bike course is well marked and safe (for Thailand’s standards anyways).
Describing the course can be a challenge. We can’t say it is hilly, since you spend most time on flats or very gentle undulations, however we can’t also consider it flat, as there are two sets of short but very steep hills, the first one is around the 40km mark, while the last set is at the 75km mark, each set of hills last for almost 5km and the downhill’s are just as steep.

 

It is very common to see athletes walking while pushing their bikes up these hills. To avoid that, you want to have a large cassette (i.e. 27+) or compact cranks.

In terms of fitness, here are two ways to improve your climbing abilities. The first is by climbing more! If you have access to hills, do hill repeats at a hard effort. If you live in a flat area, you can get stronger by riding in a very low cadence, and doing intense and short repeats. You are basically doing leg presses on the bike. See the set below:

Choice warm-up
10-20x [1min at 40 to 50 cadence HARD RESISTANCE / 1min VERY EASY recovery]
Choice cool-down

You can also do the set above at the end of a long bike ride, since it will be very specific to race day.

Run (21km)
It’s a very straightforward run, mostly on the golf course. The golf course’s undulations are not significant. The only special consideration for this course is the terrain, as the mix of grass and dirt road makes it a bit slower compared with a hard surface.

 

It is important to focus on a very high stride rate and learn how to build your effort as you progress into the run, and to prepare for this we suggest the following set:

Long Run – 90 minutes negative split as:

30 minutes easy at 90 steps per minute

30 minutes moderate at 92+ steps per minute

30 minutes hard at 96+ steps per minute

Since many Asia-based triathletes live in big cities, make lemonade out of lemons by using the treadmill for the set above because it is an excellent training tool. How does a treadmill contribute so much to improved run skills?

In basic terms, running on a flat treadmill enables you to run at the same aerobic load as you do on land, but to run at a faster pace for that aerobic load. Meaning: You can run faster for longer, which means you are training neuromuscular patterns to fire at a rate that equates to a faster run pace. The aerobic training component in either case is the same.

Running at a high cadence is a very specific triathlon technique that focuses on efficiency. You also want to use a mid-foot strike, which helps to achieve the faster stride rate. Ideally you want to run at 90+ steps per minute (counting one foot only). The above session will challenge you with fast sections at 96 steps per minute.

 

You also want to get used to aiming for a negative split, which means picking up the effort as you progress into the run.

These tips should give you a good idea for the challenges you will face in Phuket.
Enjoy your training.

Image Post

Laguna Phuket Triathlon Course Review

 

Learn by doing! Join our next ironguides The Method training camp in Phuket 2-3 November, 2013 — Clich HERE for more info.

Video from ironguides Phuket Training Camp in 2012

 

Having lived in South-East Asia for the past six years, I have had the chance to coach people to most of the key events in this part of the world.  The Laguna Phuket Triathlon is one of the most popular event among triathletes from all over Asia. Accessed through direct flights that are less than a couple of hours away from several main cities in Asia, this event provides a challenging and fun course, superb accommodation and a breathtaking venue. It is a great weekend, with a mix of hard racing and partying by celebrating the end of the season.

Swim (1.8km)
A beach-run start is always a fun way to begin a race. However, unless you are trying to place in your age group, take this run relatively easy: otherwise you will spike your heart rate and it will take a couple of hundred meters in the water to catch your breath.

 

The first half of the swim is held in the beautiful waters of Bangtao Beach. There are usually no currents and waves which makes the first part of the swim relatively easy.
Then you run another 100 meters across the beach to dive into the resort’s lagoon. This is a challenge since the ocean water has a higher density than the lagoon (or a swimming pool), so there is a sinking feeling for the first few hundred meters of the next swim section.

You can simulate this change in training with the following swim set:

Choice warm-up
[3x100m hard with the pull buoy – 10sec rest
3x100m hard without pull buoy – 10sec rest
2x100m very easy recovery – 60sec rest]
X2-3 (do the set above two or three times, depending on your experience)

Swimming with a pull buoy helps you float better. It also changes your balance and technique in the water. When you take the pull buoy off and do another several hundred meters of repeats at race-pace effort, you will feel the difference in terms of how high you are in the water—exactly the same way you feel when you switch from the ocean to the lagoon in the Phuket swim!

Bike (55km)
Once done with the swim, the transition is very straightforward and simple. You will be directed to the mounting line. The bike course is well marked and safe (for Thailand’s standards anyways).
The course is mostly flat. You will face the most difficult part not long after T1. From 5km until 12km, you are challenged with three very steep hills—by steep I mean that they are usually ridden in the lightest gear even by world-class professional athletes.

 

It is very common to see athletes walking while pushing their bikes up these hills. To avoid that, you want to have a large cassette (i.e. 27+) or compact cranks.

In terms of fitness, here are two ways to improve your climbing abilities. The first is by climbing more! If you have access to hills, do hill repeats at a hard effort. If you live in a flat area, you can get stronger by riding in a very low cadence, and doing intense and short repeats. You are basically doing leg presses on the bike. See the set below:

Choice warm-up
10-20x [1min at 40 to 50 cadence HARD RESISTANCE / 1min VERY EASY recovery]
Choice cool-down

Pushing heavier gears will also help you to lower your heart rate after the swim, and on the flat parts of the course. The last 5kilometers of the course are a bit slower, since they go through villages with many switchbacks and turns. If you are a beginner, this will give your legs some rest as you get ready to run. If you are aiming for a top placing, you will need to pay extra attention here as losing focus will cost you time in this part.

Run (12km)
It’s a very straightforward run, mostly on the golf course. The golf course’s undulations are not significant. The only special consideration for this course is the terrain, as the mix of grass and dirt road makes it a bit slower compared with a hard surface.

 

It is important to focus on a very high stride rate, and to prepare for this we suggest the following set:

Choice warm-up
[1min fast at 96 steps per minute (count one foot only)
4min moderate at 90 steps per minute]
X5-8 (repeat the set 6 to 8 times, depending on your fitness level)
Choice cool-down

Since many Asia-based triathletes live in big cities, make lemonade out of lemons by using the treadmill for the set above because it is an excellent training tool. How does a treadmill contribute so much to improved run skills?

In basic terms, running on a flat treadmill enables you to run at the same aerobic load as you do on land, but to run at a faster pace for that aerobic load. Meaning: You can run faster for longer, which means you are training neuromuscular patterns to fire at a rate that equates to a faster run pace. The aerobic training component in either case is the same.

Running at a high cadence is a very specific triathlon technique that focuses on efficiency. You also want to use a mid-foot strike, which helps to achieve the faster stride rate. Ideally you want to run at 90+ steps per minute (counting one foot only). The above session will challenge you with fast sections at 96 steps per minute.

 

You also want to get used to aiming for a negative split, which means picking up the effort as you progress into the run.

These tips should give you a good idea for the challenges you will face in Phuket.
Enjoy your training.

Coach Vinnie Santana

 

X

Forgot Password?

Join Us