Category : Training

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Free Speed Indeed: Drafting for a Quick Swim Split

July 19, 2017

Home, Swimming, Training

You work hard in the pool 2 – 3 times a week. You buy all the latest swim toys, take stroke correction classes and analyse YouTube swim technique videos all for the sake of faster swim split. But many age groupers have not wised up to fact that drafting is the easiest way to an impressive swim split. The fear of getting hit and pulled under/ swum over in the in the opening seconds of each race drives you to ‘take it easy’ at the start. This is exactly the reason why they get caught up in the mess with everyone else in the 1^st place!

The trick is to start the swim hard and latch onto a slightly faster swimmer that will 1) shield them from the barrage in front and 2) pull them clear of the as much of the pack as possible. Yes, it is a little bit of a roller coaster ride getting there but once you have experienced ‘leaving the pack’ behind a few times in a race situation, you‘ll never want to be bogged down in the tangle of arms and legs again.

For many swimmers, lack of confidence is the main factor holding them back from fighting for a draft. They seldom practice ‘starting hard’ in their training and do not know how to change gears in the water to manage their effort levels. If this sounds like you, read on!

Finding the right draft

If you are swimming at a steady effort and holding a good rhythm to stay on the feet in front of you, chances are you have found the right draft. Just pop your head up every 10 – 15 strokes to ensure that you’re getting towed in the right direction. This is your ticket to a swim split PB – don’t let anyone come in between you and those feet in front of you. If you need to swim ‘tough’ to defend your territory – so be it.Don’t budge! Take a few knocks and don’t hesitate to bump back, let them know that you’re there to stay. A high stroke rate with a straight arm recovery and wide hand entry and is a clear signal for other swimmers to stay out clear of your territory.

If you lose this draft, you’ll be regretting it for a long time.

Your draft is too slow if you’re bumping into toes in front of you and you are struggling to get into a good rhythm because of the continual acceleration/deceleration cycles. Test this out by coming out of their wake and accessing how much effort it is going to take to go on your own. Yes – it will be harder, but can you handle it for a period while you settle into your own rhythm and search for a slightly faster set of feet?

Keep your eyes peeled for a swimmer or a train of swimmers moving steadily pass you. Wait for them to pass, put in a mini surge of a few powerful strokes to get on their toes, tuck right in behind them and settle in.

Or if there’s no such luck, look further up the field for a stronger swimmer to bridge up to. What is it going to take to bridge up to them? Can you make it across in 30 seconds/ 60 seconds/ 90 seconds with a dedicated effort to bridge up? Leap- frogging from one set of feet to the next faster ones has resulted in many fast swims times – and if well executed, can have you swimming significantly beyond your ability.

On the other hand, you’ll know if you are drafting ‘out of your league’ because even though you’re pushing hard, his/ her feet keep disappearing into the water ahead. There’s a good chance that you’re not the only one hanging on for a free ride and there will be other swimmers behind you. Pull over to the side, let them pass and duck into the slip stream of the bigger group once they have passed – exactly like you would on a pace line on the bike.

Applications to training:

As you can see, the swim leg of a triathlon is a very dynamic effort requiring short hard surges to catch up to faster feet, extended periods of steady and solid swimming, while on your own looking for the next draft, and the ability to recover “on the go” when you have made it across the gap.

While the long steady swims are useful for building endurance, and a flat set of 100’s is good for tolerance, the best way to master the ability to change pace on the go is to train specifically with variable speed sets. These sessions will have your heart rate up and down and everywhere in between to mimic the conditions of a real race situation. With practice, you will learn how to mix up aerobic and anaerobic efforts in the water. This, in turn, will give you the confidence to take the risk on race day to hunt down the best feet to follow. There are 2 of my favourite variable speed sets to get you started. You can change the number of reps according to your ability.

Set 1: Total Distance – 2.7km

Warm up

300m done continuous as 75easy free/ 25m butterfly

4 x 50m as 25m All Out /25m easy – 30sec rest

Main Set is 4 x through this block

4 x 50m hard – 20sec rest
200m moderate – 30sec rest
100m easy – 1min ‘reset’

Option to add paddles and pullbuoy in the second half

200m easy cool down

Set 2: Total Distance – 2.6km

Warm up

500m done continuous as 75easy free/ 25m butterfly

Main Set

6 x 100m swum as (25m All Out/ 50m easy / 25m ALL OUT)

60 sec rest
No gear

6 x 200m swum as (50m Hard / 100m easy / 50m Hard)

90 sec rest
Paddles and pullbuoy

Cool Down – 3x 100m easy with paddles and pullbuoy

If you don’t do this type of swim session at least once a week, try it out. Get used to going into the red and then ‘recovering on the go’. Paying attention to holding your form especially on the easy sections as you will be fatigued from the preceding hard efforts. And don’t forget to put this into practice the next time you toe the line!

Good luck and enjoy your training!

Shem Leong is our ironguides coach in Singapore. He has been hooked on triathlon ever since winning his age group in his first Olympic-distance race. Many top performances later, Shem still enjoys the challenges of training and racing at a high level, while balancing this with work and family. He is a firm believer in the benefits of an active lifestyle and loves being able to positively affect his athletes’ lives in this way. In the four years that Shem has worked as an ironguides coach so far, he has helped more than 60 athletes achieve their goals. They range from newbies hoping to complete their first sprint race, to 70.3 podium contenders, to seasoned Sub 10-hour Ironman athletes. Shem’s care for his athletes and his attention to detail set him apart. He completely understands the varied pull factors of life’s demands as well as the fiery motivations that drive everyday age groupers and is able to craft sustainable, effective training plans for their time-crunched schedules. An Honour’s Degree in Health Science has given Shem the knowledge to explain and expertly administer The Method. This, in turn, helps his athletes understand how each session contributes towards their ultimate goal; as a result, countless personal bests have been improved upon as his athletes continually get fitter and faster.

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)

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

By Shem Leong

Swimfit

July 5, 2017

Home, Swimming, Training

Swimming is often overlooked in Ironman as it’s seen as a short warm up before the main event. This thinking has led to swim training being overlooked or the bare minimum of work being done so athletes can complete the swim distance come race day.

I have heard many athletes gleaning to be pure endurance athletes as it takes them so long to warm up onto the bike in Ironman events. But looking over their training the truth is, more often than not it takes them so long to recover from the swim before they can start to even access their bike fitness.

Same goes for great runners wondering why despite being in amazing run shape they can never access this fitness in an Ironman, they will often blame nutrition when the real culprit is the energy cost of the swim and the debt accumulated recovering from this at the start of the bike.

So many athletes fall into the easy trap of blaming nutrition for things going wrong and not performing to expectations but I have seen time and time again the athletes who come to the races well trained and balanced fitness through consistent training really don’t seem to have these nutritional issues!!

In Ironman we want to swim well but more importantly we want to get out of the water as fresh as possible so we are not taking a debt into the remainder of the race. One big element in this is of course pacing the race correctly to your current fitness but this point is for another article. In this article I want to look at swim fitness specific for Ironman.

First and foremost, the Ironman swim is a long way, you need to be able to not only complete the distance but complete it comfortably – of all the 3 sports the swim is the only one I would recommend regularly going over distance on in training.

When looking at the swim in Ironman I would class it as a strength endurance test, it’s quite simple to demonstrate this if you happen to have both a 25m and 50m pool available for training, simply spend a few weeks training in a 25m pool which is great for fitness and technique development and then take that fitness to a 50m pool a do a time trial swim of race distance, you will end up very frustrated as despite feeling very fit you will just feel drained and slow very early on, breathing will be well under control as you simply will not be able to go hard enough to put a stress on your cardio system as the strength system will have been maxed out.

The reason for this is the short rest you get in a 25m pool on every turn is doubled in a 50m pool and this has a huge effect on the build up of fatigue. We can tell the fatigue is muscular as you will find breathing is very controlled and just no way to push harder in order to stress the cardio system. Now if this effect is seen from a jump to 50m you can imagine it will be multiplied many times in a 3.8k swim with no breaks.

Taking this into account, the most important part of any swim program has to be a long strength based endurance swim. To make a swim strength based we can do several things depending on what your circumstances are.

Using a pull buoy is the first step in incorporating strength into any swim session; the pull buoy takes the legs out of the stroke and forces all momentum to come from the arms so isolating muscles. A further addition to the pull buoy to make your arms work even harder is a band tied around your ankles – this prevents you from kicking and will really emphasize any lack of symmetry in your stroke and make forward progress really hard work!!

When using a band ignore the clock as it will really slow you down and can leave you very frustrated – when using a band perceived effort is your guide and just use the clock for calculating recovery between intervals!

Finding a comfortable band is hard and my tip is to find an old wetsuit and cut off a section of the leg about 2-3 inches thick and use this for your band. This proves perfect tightness and comfort so you will have no excuses for not doing your band work.

Paddles are a great tool for building strength and also promote good technique as a bonus. Adding paddles to the second half of a hard swim session will really work on strength and you are forcing already fatigued muscles to work even harder.

So an example strength endurance swim using the above may look something like

20×100 pull bouy moderate + 15s rest

5×200 pull buoy / band @ 1 easy / 1 hard + 30s rest

2×400 pull / band / paddles @ 1 moderate / 1 hard + 30s rest

Having a swim like this as part of your weekly training will have you strong enough to cope with the demands of the Ironman swim come race day and allow you to get onto the bike fresher and ready to go from the first meters.

Now that you are strong enough to get through the swim, we need to look at what is likely to occur in the swim and the demands it will place on the body. Open water swims will involve swimming around markers and these present another fitness challenge. When swimming in a group, the dynamic of the group will always change from steady swimming into the turn to accelerating around the turn, just as in bike racing those athletes at the back of the group will have to slow right down as they approach the turn due to congestion and then accelerate hard out of the turn in order to catch back up to the group. The demands of these accelerations are high and if you don’t train them you will quickly become tired and no longer be able to stay with the group you were swimming with.

After a warm up perform the following set twice, second time through add paddles for more of a strength challenge.

100m all out + 1min rest

4×50 hard + 10s rest

3×100 moderate + 10s rest

50 all out + 10s rest

2×100 moderate + 10s rest

150m easy + 1min rest

When swimming this set expect breathing to really be out of control the first time, focus has to be on maintaining consistent pace for each effort level through the whole set.

These 2 sessions will form the backbone of a good Ironman swim program and ensure you are ready to go on race day. Some pools and regulations can prevent the use of paddles and bands so we need to find a way to simulate the same challenge without the tools, some tips on doing this

Paddles not allowed

Use drag shorts to increase resistance or even better board shorts
Turn 2-3m before the wall and then you have to accelerate back to speed without a push off

Bands not allowed

Cross your legs to prevent any kick – just remember to alternate legs each length

Moving forward work hard on your swim with the above focus in order to not only improve your Ironman swim but to unlock your true potential on the bike and run!!

Enjoy your training

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)

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

By Alun “Woody” Woodward

IRONMAN PERFORMANCE – RESPONDER OR NON RESPONDER

June 14, 2017

Home, Training

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

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)

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

Ironman 70.3 Triathlon: Q & A

June 6, 2017

Home, Training

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 1^st half of a 12 – 16 week 70.3 training block.

It’s a good idea to switch to tolerance work for the 2^nd 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 1^st 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!

6 Tips to Improve Your Run

May 22, 2017

Home, Running, Training

Here are some tips that can be incorporated into your running workouts and can help you on race day:

1st – Try to use a good pair of shoes, because for us to run well, we need first of all, comfort and protection for our feet!

2nd – Just as with bike workouts, respect the recommendations made by your coach in relation to the intensity of training and also, do not neglect the issue of heat. .

3rd – Combine cycling and running, so your body gets used to this practice, because in triathlon you always run with tired legs! If you are training for a triathlon bike or against the clock, try to keep in the clips most of the time, as this position will be save the muscles that will be used later in the race.

4th – Make time for training up hills or use repeated intervals with slopes on the treadmill to gain strength in the legs! A good choice is to alternate between these two options each week. It is “hard”, but you will not regret it !!!

5th – The most appropriate way to run is stepping with the anterior part of the foot, which promotes the forward projection of the trunk, causing less impact on the spine and maintaining a constant center of gravity, and decreases the time the sole of the foot contacts with the ground (a good practice is to run barefoot in the grass, for it allows this part of the foot to step on the ground first).

6th – The stride need not be long, nor is it necessary to try to kick your heel to buttocks. The longer the stride is, the further the hip line is extended; taking more to stop the movement, with greater impact and time of contact with the ground, which means more wear. So decrease the amplitude in order to increase the frequency (number of steps per minute). Jack Daniels, renowned American track and field coach, analyzed numerous Olympic runners from sprinters to marathoners, and found that, regardless of distance or duration of the tests, 90 strides per leg per minute was the norm. Count the steps you take to the right or left foot for 20 seconds and make sure you are doing at least 30 steps. Initially you will feel “weird” but over time will get used to it. Try to focus the whole time. Practice!!!

Enjoy your training!
By Rodrigo Tosta – ironguides coach, Rio de Janeiro

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 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)

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

Performance in Ironman – small changes to success

March 14, 2017

Home, ironman, Training

When we stop seeing the challenge of Ironman as finishing and start looking at how fast we can get to the line the dynamic of our thinking and training changes.

The biggest challenge when we start thinking like this is accepting that failure or a long walk to the finish line is a BIG and real possibility. The training commitment and expense of the racing itself can make this too much of a risk for most of us especially when it is likely we can only commit to one Ironman race in a given year.

To have gotten to the stage where we are looking at times and performance we have likely been successful and performed well in previous races and have followed a plan to get there, the biggest mistake I see made is assume to get faster we need to be pushing much harder in training or doing much more training – both recipes for disaster!

First step in taking on this challenge is looking at previous training and races, have you steadily improved performance over a number of years with a similar training volume and intensity? If you can answer yes to this then you are still getting stimulus and adaption to this training load and there is no reason to increase as it would follow that the improvements will continue to come.

In this circumstance we want to look at our races and see if there are any small areas of weakness we may need to improve on, by this I mean if there are certain things that we always struggle with in races. For example we may tighten up or start cramping towards the end of the swim or we may find it hard to cope with small changes in gradient or accelerations during the bike section.

Once we highlight these points we can look to integrate fixes into our existing program – small changes in interval set up for example can elevate these issues in future race’s yet the stimulus from sessions is not too different and not risking a total change in stimulus. Let’s look at how we could fix the 2 issues highlighted above.

Tightening up or cramping towards the end of the swim

The Ironman swim is a long swim and places a big demand on the body that is very hard to replicate in a pool, we will all struggle to hold good technique for a full 3800m, small things we would not think about can lead to big determinations on technique when swimming open water. We all feel fatigue in shoulders and lats when swimming and assume the increase of this fatigue as the race goes on is simply due to fatigue in hugest muscles but our core strength or lack of it can be the real reason for increasing fatigue. Even though we are supported by the water to an extent we still need to have a strong core in order to hold an optimum position for an effective pull, as our core fatigues we lose this position and usually to a significant extent and this leads to more drag and the swimming muscles have to work much harder for the same speed hence the feeling of increased fatigue. As most of us can’t regularly swim open water we never get to see this fatigue come into play as the small rests we get as we turn in a pool are enough to prevent this fatigue kicking in.

The most common areas of cramping when swimming long distaste are gluteus muscles and hip flexors – the hips play a huge role in swimming and body position and if they are not strong problems will arise when racing. A small core routine incorporated into your weekly training can lead to a significant change in performance.

When I say set up a core routine to strengthen hips I am not talking about heading to the gym and spending an hour working out – a hip strengthening routine can be done at home or at the pool before or after a swim session or as a complement to your bike and run training, I find using the exercises as your warm up to be the most effective use of time.

HIP ROUTINE
HIP EXTENSION
PLANK
LUNGES
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

Go through the following exercises twice working for 30 seconds and resting for 15 seconds. See videos for how to do exercises.

Start adding this in now twice a week and you will feel the difference on the race day as you fatigue less at the end of your swim and also head out fresher and stronger into the bike!

Bike accelerations or gradient changes

In Ironman while drafting is not allowed riding legally paced groups is inevitable and even if we want to ride to our own effort or power we have to be aware of the group dynamic in order to avoid penalties and optimise our performance. One thing that always happens in such circumstances is the pace will suddenly increase or decrease and also the need to increase power for small inclines will be needed in order to maintain position and avoid penalties if riding in a large group. These small accelerations and spikes can really hurt your performance if you are not used to them as they can rapidly burn through fuel and if you can’t recover quickly and get back to normal heart rate your endurance will suffer.

If this is something you suffer from then we can change the dynamic of one of your interval bike sessions to incorporate a similar stress and allow the body to get used to going above comfort zone and then coming down again many times, the more we do this the more your body will get used to the stress and come back to normal faster.

Having looked at power meter data from athletes racing these small spikes in power tend to be between 20 and 60 seconds in duration so we want our sessions to be similar, an example of a session to simulate this is:

Warm up for 10-30mins easy

Perform the following routine 1-3 times through

1min very hard / 1min moderate x3

10min race effort

3min easy recovery and then repeat desired number if times.

The first times you attempt a session like this you will find it very tough and breathing will be stressed more than anything but you will find over a number of weeks breathing becomes more steady and recovers rapidly after the hard efforts.

This session would replace your normal race intensity session in your weekly plan, for example this could be the classic 2x20min hard session that is used by many athletes.

So if you have decided to see just how fast you can go and really race your next Ironman resist the temptation to increase volume and intensity rather look at the small changes needed to address your weakness when racing. When race day comes it is all about executing your fitness and taking the risk of blowing up!

Enjoy your training

Coach Alun “Woody” Woodward

Train with ironguides!

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Too Many Toys Spoiling the Fun

January 4, 2017

Home, Training

Triathlon really should be a simple sport about being outdoors and enjoying nature while getting fit but it has become all about gadgets in recent years. At ironguides we have taken the gadgets away from many athletes and allowed them to come from a dark place of stagnated and frustrated performance and seen them not only start to really enjoy the training with renewed motivation but also see performance developments they never thought possible.

Why do the toys cause problems?

In triathlon right now the GPS watches are the latest toy that can record every aspect of our training and rather than see groups of athletes out training together we see groups running stagnated along the road with each athlete trying to maintain some perfect speed for optimum improvement – really there is no such speed and if anything the body knows much better than a watch what is right in any given moment!!

The upcoming Ironman South Africa is a great example of a course that will really interfere with athletes who have trained using such gadgets – the run course for example while flat is typically very windy and past experience has shown it is impossible to run at a steady pace as the headwind will significantly increase effort for pace and a tailwind will have us running much faster than planned for a given effort which can really interfere with our head game on race day.

Part of the sport has always been the challenge of pushing our bodies to the limit and that brings with it a real sense of achievement on the finish line – compare this to racing looking constantly at numbers and staying within set limits and allowing numbers on a watch dictate your race. A watch can’t tell you if it is windy out or you’re going up a slight incline, a watch can’t tell you if you’re in need of food and could do with slowing down for a short time to absorb some calories.

Being in touch with our bodies is an extremely valuable skill and one not often utilized these days but we do see time and time again that the athletes who have mastered this are normally at the pointy end of their respective races.

Swim performance is something that really has suffered through bad use of toys especially the metronome to dictate stroke rate – we have removed the focus from feel of the water and changes in the environment to simply bashing the arms over and hoping the technique remains good. When we swim open water we need to be aware of our environment and if racing a sea swim such as in South Africa we need to be adaptable without stroke rate to take advantage of waves coming back to shore and also to navigate better in rough rolling conditions. Who would you follow into the water on race day, the swimmer with the biggest watch making sure all his settings are right or the guy standing looking out to sea studying the course and and simply looking at home.

Our bodies really are the most amazing computers and watches, I have trained with athletes who do not even use a watch yet will know pretty much to the minute how long they have been out, how fast they have been going and what I notice more than anything – the smile on the face!!

If you’re feeling frustrated and performance has stagnated then maybe its time to throw away your toys and start to get back in touch with how your body really feels and works.

Enjoy your training.

Coach Alun “Woody” Woodward

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)

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

Long Course Newbie Places 2nd AG at Putrajaya 70.3

April 30, 2015

beginner, Home, Singapore, Training

Athlete Focus: Sridhar Venkataraman

Sridhar came to me as a brand newbie to Triathlon under a year ago. His faultless work ethic saw him absorbing the training well and picking up new skills quickly.His 2^nd place finish in his Age Group at his 70.3 debut in Putrajaya, is a great testament, not only the hard work that he has put in, but also to his youthful curiosity and willingness to explore new challenges both in training and racing.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your journey so far, obstacles overcome and breakthrough performances.

I was a nerd in school with very protective parents who were quite clear that academics was the preferred path – not that I was any good at that either – poor them! But have always been an outdoorsy kind of guy. Mountaineering, rock-climbing, high altitude trekking – I have some awesome mates who have been cheering me from the start. Some of them got into endurance sports and they encouraged me to do the same.

I have been an avid runner for the last four years. A couple of years ago, I had a disastrous start to my tri career when I panicked in my first sprint attempt during the swim and got myself hauled back by boat.

I joined some open water sessions and did my first Olympic Distance swim a few months later. I discovered that my swim technique was all awful and I worked on it with a specialist swim coach for over a year using the TI technique.

Q: What has your experience been of following a written programme- and share with us more specifically about how The Method works.

Since, I started working with Shem, I have realised what a difference a coach can make; especially if I want to get serious about the sport and more importantly if I want to enjoy my training. The Method basically achieves this goal by easing your body and mind gently yet firmly into the groove of training every day. The sessions are calibrated and tailor made for me with just the right bit of challenge. The workouts are never boring and they teach you to stay focused throughout instead of coasting along aimlessly. Congratulations Sridhar! And thank you for taking the time to share your journey with us.

Q: What role did your squad sessions play a part in your race prep?

The sessions are just awesome. The atmosphere is electrifying and the camaraderie is uplifting and fun. You need a group to push you and make the training fun. I travel one hour out and one hour back just to attend their sessions. It made a huge difference with Coach Shem giving the right nudges at the right times.

Q: How have you improved & what have you learnt about endurance racing and training under my coaching.

Shem is a no – nonsense and inspiring coach. Tells you when you are doing well and when you need to buck up and more importantly how to buck up. The core sessions were invaluable. The nutrition and race tips made all the difference. He also has the right touch to motivate and inspire me.

Q: How did you feel crossing the line of your 1st Half Ironman with such an impressive result?

Honestly, I just wanted to finish. Impressive result?If you say so, I will take it. But I have larger promises to keep and many miles to go before I sleep!

Q: Briefly talk us through the race.High/ low points during the race. Standout thoughts at certain points in the race.

I used to be intimidated by the swim. Not anymore. But the run which is my strongest point was what was scary considering the conditions. But I felt good throughout and never had any low points. It was just ‘flow’ all along for six hours plus.

Waiting for swim start –

No butterflies, just impatience. I couldn’t wait for it to start!

Mid way though the bike-

The push did not come and that was a bit disappointing for me.

Starting out on the run –

Thanks to Shem I was used to listening to my body complaining and as advised by him, just kept going and it just fell together. I did not try any theatrics. Just kept going and kept getting hydrated both within and without.

Finishing up on the run-

A great feeling knowing that I had finally done it!

Q: How did your training prepare you to stay strong mentally throughout the race?

If not for the training I would not have completed it for sure. A 70.3 is not to be taken lightly. A mentally and physically strong person without training might still complete it but may not have enjoyed it during and after.

Q: Let’s talk about your training. Can you briefly describe your weekly training schedule? How and why that’s working for you.

Two hours a day [one hour in the morning and one in the evening]. I used to do slightly more than my coach asked me to – not necessarily a wise thing. It works for me because I have great support from my family, and not much distractions from them either since both my kids are grown up and away, I have flexible work days as I am an entrepreneur and I set my own pace at work. I am very conscious and concerned about keeping work-life balance and staying disentangled from social encumbrances. Yeah… that’s the mix that has worked for me.

Q: Please share with us the 2 most important ‘take home’ messages that you have learnt about endurance training that everyone needs to hear.

Keep the dialog going between mind and body and be an honest moderator between the two. Let each have its say and get them to get into a working relationship. If you make the mistake of putting any one of them down, you are going to suffer!

Consistency is king.

Q: I always stress the importance of communication in the coach -athlete relationship; your thoughts on this please.

I could have done better here. The coach’s responses were timelier than mine. But still he knew my body better than me.

Q: Any life lessons have you learnt on this journey so far?

Comfort zones are traps. You will keep getting ensnared in them and you have to fight yourself out.

Q: What are the benefits of having a coach? What are the characteristics for a good coach to look out for?

The view from inside looking out is different from someone from the outside looking in – that’s the coach. In the Indian Hindu tradition the hierarchy is as follows: the coach(guru), parents and only then, God. The coach has been there before you and can help you get there quicker, faster and safer. A good coach is one who listens, empathises and knows what the pupil is looking for. And above all he is honest.

Q: Think you can go faster?

I don’t know, you should tell me. As of now I am doing my best, but I need to get stronger!!

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!

More info at www.ironguides.net

–

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Profile: Roberto Carfagno

March 28, 2014

DNR, Home, ironman, Training

Roberto – Congratulations! It’s a rare occurrence that an athlete finishes their maiden Ironman so close to 11 hours. I’d like to get into your head a little and draw out inspiration for the rest of us age- groupers out here.

1. First up – How did you feel crossing the line of your 1st IM in such an impressive time?

Strangely enough, I had my strongest emotions at the start of my second loop (out of three) on the run.

To understand the full picture we need to take into accounts a few details:

a) I had never ran a marathon before and I didn’t know what to expect (a wall? Walk-run? Just walk?)

b) Even though I had a goal to finish my 1^st ironman in 12 hours I didn’t know if I was going to be able to achieve it.

My plan was as follows- Swim plus transition time – 1:30/ Bike: 5:30/ Run 5:00

The swim part went well time-wise and I had gained a few minutes on my time table, but the strong wind, the rough tarmac and the hills took their toll on my bike leg: 5:41. So I went into the run with a lot of respect and just replayed the same mantra. in my head: “smooth and easy”.

My coach had also told me to “Treat it like a long jog”. This piece of advice proved to be the real key for my run.

When I started the second loop with 28km to go, I checked my watch and realized that not only would I make it within 12 hours but rather in a low 11h if not better. Somehow, knowing that everything depended on my run skills, whether I could keep this speed, whether I hit that famous wall on the marathon, and the fact that I really really wanted to make it, brought me so close to an outburst and cry. Don’t ask me why! In my mind all the run-related exercises and sweat went through like a movie and I told myself that nothing would stop me now to reach those low 11 hours. Guess I am an emotional person..!

On the last 3km I even found the strength to finish strong with a long sprint as I knew I had made it and by the time I crossed that line my emotions were already under control. Pity, actually…I even stopped a few steps before the ramp, took off my hat, “combed” my hair, zipped up my suit and bowed: we sure want to look good on the finisher pictures!

2. Briefly talk us through the race. High/ low points during the race. Standout thoughts at certain points in the race.

Waiting for swim start –

The walk from home to the race location was freezing cold. I felt excited and a bit anxious: I had never started a swim with so many people around me. And although I am a very confident swimmer, I had the worst of the starts one can imagine.

After 40-50m into the swim I simply felt I couldn’t breath. That “anxiety” was so strong that I stopped swimming with one hand and started to pull at my wet suit around my chest. This obviously made it worse as people behind me simply swam over me which made me swallow a lot of water. I was indeed SOOO close to withdraw from the race. And I presume I would have if not for the fact that if I had indeed stopped, I would have been overrun by at least 1’000 people behind me.

So I gathered myself and swam to the side of the bunch and that’s when it started to go well again. I guess that was my first panic-attack in my whole life and I still need to analyse it.

I followed my coach’s advice and kept drafting behind swimmers. As I found my confidence and rhythm in the open water, I found it quite fun to keep changing up to a quicker draft. In the end, it worked well and I arrived 15min ahead of schedule. This was a huge boost.

Mid way though the bike-

Based on my coach’s strategy to stay patient and conservative on the first 2/3’s of the bike I kept the whole first full loop “easy” and let people overtake me. The plan was to see how much I could push in the last 1.3 of the bike.

I started the second and last loop more aggressive. I knew that was when I had to attack as the wind was in favour and kept pushing it all the way through to the turnaround at km135. The last 45km, uphill and against the wind, were simply torture. With 25km to go, I knew that I wouldn’t manage to stay within schedule. This frustrated me and as a reaction I started to push harder. Man, that hurt!!!

Starting out on the run –

I started the run again very conservatively. Most of the athletes I had left behind on the swim and bike started to catch up and overtake me but that didn’t bother me. I was focused on being ready for the wall hence kept it at a steady pace. As described above, on the start of my second loop I had an emotional outbreak and that gave me the energy to keep going. I guess people are right when they say that nutrition is the 4^th leg in an Ironman. Once I reached km32 I simply started counting down the km and went up with my speed. No wall ever hit me! : )

Finishing up on the run-

I think that was the most fun part of the whole race: I started to run as fast as I possibly could at that moment and I think I overtook about 50 people on my last 2km of the race. Awesome!

3. How did your physical training prepare you to stay strong mentally throughout the race?

The last 2 months of the training depicted very well the mental conditions of the race. Although I had never rode 180km (160km was my max), and despite the fact that 180km ARE veeeery long, those long and lonely bike rides prepared me perfectly for race conditions.

Moreover, all the tough sessions I had leading to the race during the past 6 months helped me being confident that I can make it. If I had survived running up that hill for weeks and weeks and swim those laps till I was out of breath for months then I surely could do an Ironman!

4. At which point did you realize you could break your goal of 12h and where/ what did you draw your strength/ resolve/ focus from to dig deep and go for it.

That was my most emotional moment of the race. When I left T2, I was 5 mins behind my schedule with my ‘weakest’ discipline to go. Somehow I thought I wouldn’t make it within my goal of 12 hours. What I didn’t realize is that the clock showed the professional’s race time. They started 15min earlier than us and I actually 10 mins ahead of my race plan!

When I started my second loop and I realized I was much faster than I had anticipated all emotions broke loose. And this somehow gave me the kick to keep running at my pace when about midway I felt my legs becoming heavier. A big help came also from the most powerful legalized doping drink: coke!!! Amazing how it can push you!

5. Let’s talk about your training. Can you briefly describe your weekly training schedule. How and why that’s working for you.

My coach and I had first a thorough discussion on my life style. Each aspect was taken into account and based on those inputs he prepared a training schedule that perfectly fit my needs.

Being single obviously helps a lot in my training as I can be more flexible on my training hours, but then, my job requires me to travel quite often which makes it a challenge to fulfill all exercises. I have learnt, though, that it CAN be done.

Every single day a little session will bring you through an Ironman!

In the 180 days that I have been with Ironguides, I have only missed 17 days of training- despite Christmas (on my bike!) and New Year (long run!).

6. Please share with us the 2 most important ‘take home’ messages that you have learnt about endurance training that everyone needs to hear.

No doubt about the first one which is also rightly highlighted by Ironguides: Consistency is key! Do a little bit every day and you will be ready at the start of your Ironman!

The second lesson that I learnt is the incredible power of the human spirit to overcome adversity.

For example – the number of times I wanted to skip training with teasers from my friends to join them for drinks or movies. Or when I had the panic attack, at the swim start and I almost withdrew from the race or when I almost got off the bike as my legs burnt so badly uphill against the wind.

But “nothing is impossible to a willing mind!”

7. I always stress the importance of communication in the coach -athlete relationship. Your thoughts on this please.

With Shem I picked a winning lottery ticket.

We had an ongoing communication both with mails and face-to-face discussions. When going into your first Ironman there are many doubts, many anxieties, when starting for such a monumental endeavor there are various questions on the training and its effects, on how to pace yourself and what to take in as nutrition.

Communication and understanding from your coach is the second most important thing after…his training schedule!

8. What life lessons have you learnt on this journey to Ironman?

I learnt that with discipline and putting in the correct effort, I can achieve anything. I might not be the fastest and quickest, but I’ll be there at the end line, no matter what challenge I face.

9. What are the benefits of having a coach? What are the characteristics for a good coach to look out for?

A coach brings in all the essential missing parts an athlete needs: experience, motivation, control.

A good coach should explain how he works, what the benefit is behind each training session. He/ She should also be receptive to the athlete’s needs and be open to adapt to it when necessary. He or She should also be able to push the athlete to get over his “comfort zone” both physically and mentally.

It is also important that a coach check in on the athlete, to regularly access their level of motivation and fatigue.

Indeed, there are just 2 options when you choose to work with a coach: either you trust him completely or you don’t.

10. Think you can go faster?

At 1.93m and 88kg I have all but a perfect triathlete “frame”. With such height/mass I suffer the heat more than a skinnier and smaller person hence IM races like Cebu and Langkawi I registered for will see me most likely go slower. Moreover, the swim leg in NZ was with a wetsuit which gained me at least 10min.

On the other hand, I have gained experience, especially on the run part, and I will keep on training consistently.

I am thoroughly confident that in a race that suits me in terms of temperature and route I will get in under 11 hours. Who knows, I might even take it down to 10:30!

Roberto finished in 11:08′. This was an awesome result for his 1st attempt at the Ironman distance. The major improvement for Roberto came from the work that we did to improve his running gait and efficiency. While others may have questioned the rationale behind doing 15 x 100m running sprints for 12 weeks building up to an Ironman, Roberto didn’t bat an eyelid. He simply got his head down and did the work and came out a much improved runner after that block. His admirable work ethic and his ability to stay open and receptive to The Method were the perfect combination to achieving this goal!

Coach 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)