WHAT DO YOU WEAR?
We’re curious: what do you prefer to wear when racing long distance triathlons?
Please take our 1-minute survey and tell us about your favorite duds! We’ll report the results in an upcoming edition of TriWire.
GOLDEN HOUR
Despite an errant referee’s boat and a typhoon downpour, the much-anticipated Olympic triathlons lived up to their hype and delivered some of the year’s most exciting racing.
After a strange false start, the men’s race was decided in the final 1km of the run, with Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) outkicking Alex Yee (GBR) for the gold.
In the women’s competition, 2x World Champion Flora Duffy (BER) obliterated the Olympic records for the run and overall race time enroute to a convincing win.
For in-depth summaries of both races, watch these creative videos by Lonely Triathlete.
FLEX FUEL
When he set the age group record in Kona, Dan Plews consumed only 50 gm of carbs per hour on the bike… and just 40 gm of carbohydrates during the entire marathon!
How was this possible? He was “fat adapted” and supplemented his metabolism of carbohydrates with a steady burn of endogenous fats.
As long-distance triathletes, it’s critical that we preserve glycogen for as long as possible to maintain energy and avoid hitting the wall deep into the race.
Ingesting carbs through bars, drinks and gels throughout a race is a popular strategy for preserving glycogen. However many of us have discovered the debilitating stomach problems caused by consuming too much; we can only absorb, process and utilize a limited amount of carbs during exercise before overwhelming our GI systems.
As demonstrated by Dr. Dan Plews, there’s convincing evidence that, by training the body to be more efficient at metabolizing endogenous fats through a lower carbohydrate diet, we can increase our efficient use of fat during exercise. This preserves glycogen and reduces our dependence on carbs, helping to prevent the stomach distress that derails so many races.
LONG UPHILLS
Running long hill repeats is an excellent way to build muscular endurance and aerobic fitness. It also delivers a powerful dose of run-specific strength training.
According to Training4Endurance, uphill running increases the force of each foot strike (by up to 4%), thereby recruiting more muscle fibers per stride (as compared to track intervals) and enhancing fatigue resistance.
Any uphill interval on a moderate (3 to 5%) gradient lasting more than 90 seconds is considered “long.” But, for optimal benefit, perform most segments for 2 to 4 minutes at an intensity between your lactate threshold and VO2 max.
Review these 3 types of long hill workouts (including one that can be done on a treadmill), and experiment with them in your own training program.
YOU NEED AN EDGE
You can now get the proven UCAN SuperStarch fuel in a long-awaited gel called UCAN Edge. Favored by Olympic bronze medalist Katie Zafares and top IRONMAN professional Tim O’Donnell, this proprietary formulation has 70 calories, 19 grams of carbs, zero sugar and 55 mg of sodium and provides sustained energy hour after hour.
Its delicious orange flavor is not too sweet, and its medium consistency goes down easily… even when you’re performing at high levels.
Best of all, there’s no stomach distress or blood sugar spikes, even after hourly consumption during an entire long distance race. Now you can join Generation UCAN – and save 15% off of all UCAN purchases by using this link.
LEADING INDICATORS
Can performance in an individual discipline predict the likelihood of your overall success in a triathlon?
After an exhaustive study of more than 16,000 pro finishes over 6 years, researchers made some fascinating discoveries.
Although it represents the smallest portion of overall triathlon distances, in Olympic distance races swimming is the best predictor of success. In contrast, for IRONMAN 70.3 events cycling is the better predictor for overall race time.
The contribution of running speed to overall race time increases as race distances get longer, making running the better overall performance predictor in full distance IRONMAN triathlons.
This was the first study to analyze the proportion of time spent in each triathlon discipline and its importance to predict overall performance across different triathlon distances. You can get deep into the study’s data here.
LIFTING DON’TS
Coach Menachem Brodie outlines 4 common mistakes he observes in endurance athletes who are new to strength training.
A well-designed program will include heavy lifting at certain times per year and maintenance lifting during the race season. Most important, however, is that strength training should be practiced year-round.
Check out this article to help you design a realistic and productive strength training routine that integrates well into your overall program.
QUICK HIITS:
- Mix It Up
There’s one more triathlon on the Tokyo Olympics schedule and you don’t want to miss it: the Mixed Relay. Get all the details about this weekend’s event and set your DVR to capture this exciting race format. - Older AND Faster
America’s top triathlon coach Joe Friel describes how aging athletes can preserve speed, strength and flexibility in his groundbreaking work, Fast After 50. If you want to continue to perform at your best while maintaining optimal health, then this book is for you. - Local Legend
It only took 8 laps, but Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) deservedly earned the KOM and Local Legend status on the Tokyo Olympics bike course on his way to a gold medal in triathlon. Check out his impressive STRAVA file.
