Monthly Archives : June 2017

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Turning the page

June 28, 2017

Ironman is a very demanding sport and challenge for all who take part, that in itself is the beauty and attraction of the sport. We all make a lot of sacrifices for training both in terms of time away from family and friends to the actual cost of equipment and events and the weight of all these things can come crashing down on us if something goes wrong before an event or even worse during the event itself. Think we have all heard about the post Ironman blues but this depression is magnified when something goes wrong and prevents us doing as planned on race day.

We spend a lot of time and energy training and planning for success, but I think it’s very important that athletes have a strategy in place to cope with failure or obstacles that may arise in be lead up or on race day.

Illness

One of the biggest obstacles we have as athletes and Ironman is illness, our immune systems can be compromised with all the training and it is usually when we ease off training that illness comes out – the amount of athletes who become ill during race taper is huge. So what can you do when illness hits in the days before a race?

Firstly stay calm, stressing out is only going to make the situation worse and prolong the illness. Speak to your coach as adapting your training plan at this time will ensure your immune system has more chance to recover and a coach can make sure appropriate sessions are given to keep muscles switched on while not stressing the system too much! An example of this can be seen with the following sessions

SWIM

Panned session

200 easy – 5×200 moderate on 3min – 200 easy

Adapted session

200 easy – 3×200 pull / paddles on 4min – 200 easy

In the adapted session by adding in use of the pull buoy and paddles we place a little more emphasis on strength and reduce the cardio stress, heart rate will be lower and breathing under control but the muscles will still get the same training effect. Longer recoveries in the set ensure heart rate stays lower and does not drift up during the session.

Following the session you will feel you have worked the muscles but will not feel fatigued and drained as during a normal session undertaken while sick.

We can apply this in a similar way to a bike session, for example if we had some 3min hard intervals to do that would be quite hard for the body when sick we want to look at hitting the same system and have the muscles work but we can reduce the time to stop the level of stress. So for example we may work on 40second hard with 2.20 easy between – we still get the muscles worked but the shorter interval will keep heart rate low and the long recoveries will stop heart rate drifting up.

Mechanical issues – travel related?

Another issue that often comes up to throw a spanner in the works is a mechanical issue with bikes, this is extremely common when travelling on planes or cars as we normally do when racing. Triathlon bikes can be very expensive and have specialty parts due to brand designs, if you have a bike that requires specialty parts and bolts for things such as stems, seat post or saddles then make sure you order spares to travel with – it’s a horrible feeling to get to your race with a $10000 bike and not be able to race because you do not have a $10 screw to replace a broken part.

Sometimes though the bike may not be repairable or not turn up at the airport with your bags, this does happen a lot more than you think. Position on your bike is very important and just a small change from your position will affect not only your biking but how you run off the bike – so make sure you have all your measurements written down in case the worst comes to the worst and you have to hire a bike at the event.

Having taken care of everything you can there is still the possibility of something actually going wrong during the race that can end your day, this is something we can’t prevent or really plan for but is just a reality when we are reliant on equipment and not just our selves to get through the race, a flat tire, broken wheel, snapped seat post bolt are just a few examples. Also crashes do happen on the bike and again these can be totally out of our control.

When something happens during the day that means you can’t finish the event it will feel devastating at the time but if we know it can happen and have strategies in mind for it we can cope a lot better. I think we see this a lot with pro athletes as they have to cope with failure a lot more often, picking yourself up and just getting on with it just becomes part of life for a pro. I think you learn quickly that brooding does not solve anything and just makes you and all around you miserable. Just think about kids learning to ride a bike. When they crash we make sure they get straight back on a get going and they learn very quickly this way, we need to take e same mindset and get back on and get going with life! One of my favourite sayings is TURN THE PAGE – no matter how bad we have to just turn the page and start a fresh!

If we have trained for an Ironman and something has prevented the race being completed use your fitness, find another event even if a small local event or just get a group of friends together and do your own training race to get closure from all the hard work you have done!

Always remember tomorrow is a new day and we can always start a fresh wherever we may be!

Enjoy your training

Alun “Woody” Woodward

 

ironguides is the leading Lifestyle Facilitation company for athletes of all abilities. We provide coaching and training services, plans and programs, as well training education, health and fitness products to help you learn and live a healthy lifestyle. Come get fit with one of our monthly training subscriptions, event-specific training plans, coaching services, or a triathlon training camp in an exotic location! ironguides also provides Corporate Health services including Corporate Triathlons, Healthy Living retreats and speaking engagements. At ironguides, your best is our business!

Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching:  Starting at USD190/month

Monthly Training plans (for all levels, or focused on one discipline): Only USD39/months

Event based training plans:

Sprint Distance (USD45 for 8-week plan)

Olympic Distance (USD65 for 12 week plan)

Half Ironman (R$95 for 16-week plan)

Ironman (USD145 for 20-week plan)

X-Terra (USD65 for 12-week plan)

Running Plans (10k, 21k and 42k – starting at USD40)

 

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IRONMAN PERFORMANCE – RESPONDER OR NON RESPONDER

June 14, 2017

The human body is amazingly adaptable and we can accomplish amazing feats through training and specific preparation, we read time and time again about the stories of sedentary individuals suddenly taking up exercise and within a short period of time transform themselves from being unable to run for a bus to completing marathons and ironman competitions.

As a coach though i routinely hear from athletes who have lofty goals but keep failing in their pursuit of fitness. These individuals have been told they are non responders to training, they just do not seem to adapt to the stresses off training and improve as others around them.

When i work with these individuals we have to look at what is happening and why they may not be responding to training, i truly believe we are all capable of improving performance in endurance sports but the recipe to do that is not the same for all individuals yet within the endurance world we are constantly fed the same recipe for training and all seem to follow this with varying degrees of success and failure.

When faced with a non responder to conventional training we need to look at 2 aspects, what they are doing in training but also their general and nutritional health needs to be considered.

Lets start with the health side, when i say health i am talking about deficiencies that could be stalling any progress. If you imagine trying to bake a loaf of bread but you have no yeast then no matter what you do the dough is not going to rise. The same goes for training – our bodies need certain ingredients in order to adapt to training and progress fitness.

As an example iron is a essential nutrient for aerobic adaption, if you are iron deficient then typical symptoms include fatigue and nausea. These symptoms are also seen as normal when training especially when unfit, these are not pleasant and having these symptoms continue is why a lot of athletes quickly stop training and return to their sedentary lifestyle.

Iron deficiency is more common that we think especially in modern athletes. Foods that contain high levels of iron are rarely eaten by athletes who think they are eating healthy, they avoid red meat and the best source liver is rarely eaten by anyone these days. When you consider this and then on top of this the fact that iron absorption is compromised by consuming coffee which seems to be the number one ingredient in most busy athletes nutrition plans then its not a surprise iron levels tend to be lower than they should be. I have seen time and time again the removal of excessive coffee drinking and the addition off liver into the diet 2-3 times per week make a huge difference to the progress of athletes training.

If you feel like you stall every time you try and get fit maybe its time to start a different way, go and get a full health check and blood test and check your healthy and body is ready to commence a training program. With modern medicine doctors can test for all sorts of deficiencies within the body – getting healthy and making sure your in a good place health wiser before commencing a training program will make a big difference to your progression and also how much you enjoy the process.

Once we have looked into the health side and made sure the athlete does not have deficiencies present that are preventing the body from adapting to the training then we need to start looking into the specific training routine.

Within sports we all have different talents, some of us are good at sprinting while others are more gifted at endurance events, this is all to do with how our muscles are built genetically. While an athlete predisposed to endurance will always struggle with speed an athlete built for speed can develop very good endurance with the correct training.

To start we need to look at volume of training, very rarely will an athlete be training too little to adapt and most jump straight in at the deep end and train too much. Too much volume too quickly can stall progression as everything gets backed up, this is linked to the health side in that not enough nutrients are present to allow the body to adapt and rebuild after training so progression simply does not happen. This is something i see a lot in not only beginners but also pro athletes.

Reducing training load can be all that is needed to start seeing significant progression in fitness. Always remember our bodies are made to adapt, so long as we give the right stimulus adaption will happen.

Now if changes in training load are not leading to any changes then we need to look at the content of the sessions. First thing i look at is the endurance work within the program, as an example if an athlete completes their long run every week at an appropriate pace and still struggle with the session week on week then something needs to change. Taking this athlete though a 4-6 week block of work focussed on short duration sprints in the 20-40s range with long recoveries and then going back to the endurance work results in much improved results and limited fatigue in endurance sessions when compared to before the sprint work.

Looking at the reverse we have athletes who never have issues with endurance sessions, wether fully fit or after a long period of rest they can go straight out and do an endurance session with little stress on the body, yet these athletes can really struggle to see any development in these sessions. These athletes are natural endurance athletes and no amount of training is going to really develop this area and to move performance levels up the focus would be on longer duration hard intervals in the 3-4minutes range with short recoveries.

Training really is individual and coaching is the art of finding the right recipe for each athlete.

If your sick of the same performances and stalled progression then maybe its time to take a real look at your training and find out what is stopping your progression. After all training is defined by applied stimulus to the body that brings about improvements in performance – if this is not happening then your not really training!

enjoy your training
Coach Alun “Woody” Woodward

ironguides is the leading Lifestyle Facilitation company for athletes of all abilities. We provide coaching and training services, plans and programs, as well training education, health and fitness products to help you learn and live a healthy lifestyle. Come get fit with one of our monthly training subscriptions, event-specific training plans, coaching services, or a triathlon training camp in an exotic location! ironguides also provides Corporate Health services including Corporate Triathlons, Healthy Living retreats and speaking engagements. At ironguides, your best is our business!

Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching:  Starting at USD190/month

Monthly Training plans (for all levels, or focused on one discipline): Only USD39/months

Event based training plans:

Sprint Distance (USD45 for 8-week plan)

Olympic Distance (USD65 for 12 week plan)

Half Ironman (R$95 for 16-week plan)

Ironman (USD145 for 20-week plan)

X-Terra (USD65 for 12-week plan)

Running Plans (10k, 21k and 42k – starting at USD40)

 

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Ironman 70.3 Triathlon: Q & A

June 6, 2017

For someone who can only train 10hrs/week (between 8-12hrs) for a 70.3, with no particular strength/weakness – all swim bike run are equally average, how would you allocate the training hours and at what intensity?

Typical age groupers that need to balance work,family and training usually have one hour a day and a little longer on the weekends for training. 10 hours a week is plenty for a decent 70.3 if you are able to dedicate this amount of time consistently every week.

Here is the short answer –

Swim – 2 x a week (2 hours altogether)

* 1 hour each

* One Strength session and one long steady aerobic session.

* Use paddles to build upper body strength

Bike – 3 x a week – (4 – 5 hours altogether)

* 2 x 1 hour on the trainer – one strength session/ one tolerance session – learn to suffer!

* 1 x long steady ride on the road 2.5 – 3 hrs. (usually weekend)

Run – 2 – 3 x a week (3 hours altogether)

* 1 x 1 hr speed / tolerance session depending on proximity of race and your running background and current fitness.

* 1 x long steady aerobic run with structure built in.

* Short run off the bike as the race draws closer.

Here is the thinking behind it:

 

  • SWIM – Once you are ‘there’ with your swim, unless you can swim a lot (upwards of 4 times a week), significant gains in swimming are very hard to come by. You can try to improve your ‘technique’ all you want – but honestly, when you’re caught in the fray, all bets are off – strength is going to be your best friend. Short hard sprints with paddles will build strength and a longer steady aerobic swim will work both ends of the ‘spectrum’ of swim fitness, leaving the ‘overlap’ to take care of everything else in between. That’s why 2 swims is the minimum required to maintain your current level of swimming.

Unless you decide to do a swim focused block of training, and are willing to let the bike and run go for awhile, I believe that ‘technique’ is better left humming quietly in the background to develop naturally and gradually over the months and years as your cumulative time in the water adds up and you intuitively develop a better sense of balance, rotation, timing and stroke.

  • BIKE – For an athlete that is equally average in all 3 disciplines, the biggest ‘bang for your buck’ in terms of gains in triathlon performance would be to work on bike strength. The stronger a biker you are, the better your chances of putting in a solid bike and still having decent legs left for the run:

Consider Athlete A (average biker / super runner) vs Athlete B (strong biker / average runner). Say they exit T1 of a 70.3 neck and neck and start the bike together. While Athlete B pushes out a solid, steady and well-paced ride of 2.5 hours, Athlete A digs deep and smashes his legs for that same bike split, to enter T2 together. Now who do you think is in a better position to run off the bike? No matter how strong a runner Athlete A is, his legs are already fried from the bike and he’s going to struggle to even put one foot in front of the other. Athlete B, on the other hand, still has relatively fresh legs and is in a much better position to put his ‘average’ running fitness to good use.

Bottom line – for training in Singapore (and other countries with poor outdoor cycling options), get a bike trainer and learn how to use it. The uninitiated will use every excuse not to get on the trainer while those in the know dutifully climb on board and kill themselves for the better part of an hour – twice a week – and then ride away from the rest of the bunch on the group ride. Think of trainers session like track work for cycling.

10 hours a week? How much of that time is used up actually getting out the door and riding to a spot where you can do some meaningful bike training in Singapore?  Now multiply that by 2 cos you have to ride back. Now one of your riding buddies is running late so you need to wait for him. A little further into the ride, the traffic light has just gone red in the middle of your 10 min Time Trail effort. Never mind – we’ll start over – hang on – mind that idiot driver, mind that pot-hole. Someone’s dropped a bottle/ needs to stop to refill etc… Sound familiar?

Bike trainer scenario – wake up, brush teeth, pull on bibs, plug in your ear buds, turn the volume up and jump on the trainer. 15 min warm up will wake you up/ 2 x 20 mins head down, eyes closed, best effort Time Trial / 5 mins easy recovery in between/ 5 mins easy spin cool down.  You’re done in an hour. Your legs are dead but you are buzzing from the suffering that you have just lived through. Shower. Quick bite. Off to work. Do 2 different sessions a week and you’ll see improvements in no time.

  • RUN– Typical Age Group triathletes simply don’t have the time to put in the long easy miles or several different types of running workouts; Speedwork/ Tempo Runs/ Cruise Intervals/ Long Runs etc etc. So the best way to overcome this is to build multiple ‘layers’/ structure into each run we do so that we’re covering as much of the necessary ground as possible

Strength work in the form of hill repeats or short hard intervals will actually teach your body how to run faster. It is great for hard wiring good running technique and posture as well as developing a high stride rate. At the same time, pushing All Out, for short bouts at a time, also ‘opens up’ the cardiovascular system and takes the ceiling off previous levels of perceived performance. These types of sessions are best done regularly for the 1st half of a 12 – 16 week 70.3 training block.

It’s a good idea to switch to tolerance work for the 2nd half of your training block to bring about the cardiovascular adaptations that will allow you to manage the ‘redline’ better on race day. The speed and strength work done in the 1st phase of your training will trickle down to enhance your sub-threshold and race pace efforts as you get closer to the day.

Likewise, it is a good idea to build structure into your weekly long run. A simple negative split effort; dividing your run into thirds – easy, mod and hard, will teach you how to pace on race day.

Or you could finish up a 90 min run with 3 x 2km hard repeats or 10 x 1 min hard/ 1 min easy to squeeze in a little quality work at the end. Structuring your runs will also teach you to hold your mental focus for the whole time (staying in the moment) instead of drifting off at an easy ‘all day’ pace. Learning to read your body’s feedback at different effort levels through your breathing/ form/ flow and stride rate will give you the confidence to manage the race day effort to your best ability.

In conclusion, when it’s time to train –TRAIN! Put everything you have (however much or little it may be on that day) into that precious hour. Learn to focus and stay in the moment for the duration of your session. Tune into what your body is doing and how you can do it better – breathing / stroking/ pedaling / holding form. Experiment, test and work at accurately gauging your perceived effort level during all different types of training sessions. This will come back to you on race day through a sharper mental focus and an intuitive ability to pace yourself perfectly through the 70.3 miles.

When the session is over, get back to the rest of your life – being a good and responsible Husband/ Wife/ Dad/ Mum/ Employee!

Enjoy your training!
Shem Leong
—————–

Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching:  Starting at USD190/month

Monthly Training plans (for all levels, or focused on one discipline): Only USD39/months

Event based training plans:

Sprint Distance (USD45 for 8-week plan)

Olympic Distance (USD65 for 12 week plan)

Half Ironman (R$95 for 16-week plan)

Ironman (USD145 for 20-week plan)

X-Terra (USD65 for 12-week plan)

Running Plans (10k, 21k and 42k – starting at USD40)

ironguides is the leading Lifestyle Facilitation company for athletes of all abilities. We provide coaching and training services, plans and programs, as well training education, health and fitness products to help you learn and live a healthy lifestyle. Come get fit with one of our monthly training subscriptions, event-specific training plans, coaching services, a Tour de France bike tour or a triathlon training camp in an exotic location! ironguides also provides Corporate Health services including Corporate Triathlons, Healthy Living retreats and speaking engagements. At ironguides, your best is our business!

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