HITT and its role in your training.

All the latest rage at my home club is HITT or High Intensity Interval Training. Why is it all the rage? Because it has been reported to be the golden ticket to fat loss! The story goes that research has indicated that not only does high-intensity training burn fat more effectively than does low intensity exercise but it also boosts up you metabolism and keeps it revved up for some time after your workout. Well lets examine that statement and determine if HITT can earn a spot in your training schedule.

First, as I indicated before, I am married to a researcher so when someone says research indicates I want to find and read said research. Unfortunately I could not find any to back up this statement. Yes high intensity workouts burn more calories than low intensity workouts because you use more energy. But you can exercise longer at lower intensities and could, in effect, match the calorie burn by just going longer. More effectively, not really, just faster.

HITT proponents also point to the short recovery periods you get as the key to burning more fat. Well what in fact happens is that you are able to maintain a high output of energy for a longer period of time than if you did the workout straight through. More calories were burned due to the increase in exercise time, not the varied efforts.

But what about the fact that you will burn more calories/fat due to higher post exercise metabolism. Well there is a study that did research this effect and they called it Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption. In a 2006 article in the Journal of Sport Sciences researchers found that more intense exercise creates a higher EPOC than low intensity workouts but that this number was only 6 to 15% of the net oxygen cost. That means if you pushed really hard for an hour or so and burned a 1000 calories, post exercise burn could add another 60 to 150 more calories. About the same as if you went at a lower intensity for another 10 min or so. More importantly the better shape you are in the less post burn you get, because you recover faster.

So it doesn't burn fat what good is it. High Intensity Interval Training makes you faster! Used wisely and not over done it is a great tool to have in your training schedule. The problem comes when athletes over use it thinking the benefits are greater than they truly are and wind up injured and exhausted.

Want to trim fat before next season, eat better and pile on the low intensity/longer workouts. You will get more calorie burn at a lower risk as well as at a pace you can maintain for a month or two. Save the HITT for the fine tuning and speed gain later in your training calendar.

Man, I'm BEAT!!! The Cumulative fatigue factor.

Okay let's get one thing straight from the get go, long runs (those over 2:30) are killers! They kill you training, because you have to recover from them before you can train again. They kill your day, what you gonna do after running for 4 hours?? And they kill your relationships!! They are bad to the core.

But Coach Bobo I am getting ready for a marathon/70.3/Ironman I need to run long!?!? Pish Posh I say! Lend me your ears and let us try and save that relationship, while we still have time.

First off how could I say such bad things about such a time honored tradition. We've heard it all before, "LSD (long slow runs) are where its at man," "the Eagles (The Long Run) knew what they were singing about," "Length is everything!"  Well it seems research does not back this up and, since I am married to a researcher, I have learned a thing or three about studies. Recent research has shown that your body doesn't see a significant increase in training benefits after running 3 hours. IN FACT the majority of the physiological stimulus of the Long Run occurs between the 90 minute mark and the 150 minute mark. It further goes on to say that if you do run longer than 3 hours the aerobic benefits (capillary building and mitochondrial development) begin to actually stagnate or decline instead of getting better. So let me distill that for you, running more than 2:30 makes no freak'n sense.

So what's an endurance athlete to do?? Well meet your new best friend: Cumulative Fatigue!! Now this isn't my idea but I have been studying the concept for awhile now. This idea is one of the building blocks of Hansons Marathon Method. In short it employs the idea of active recovery in the form of easier, but still pretty good distance, runs scheduled on consecutive days. Then you head out for a semi-long run that approaches you goal race pace. The consecutive easy days (which themselves usually follow a tempo day) allow for partial, but not full, recovery. Then by the time you hit that semi-long run the primary muscle fibers are fatigued and require you to recruit secondary ones to help complete the run. In essence your semi-long run more closely resembles what you will feel like at the END of your marathon. Where as an old fashioned long run more closely resembles how you feel at the BEGINNING of a marathon. And so where do most runner fall apart during long races.... yeah you got it at the end.

Let me tell you from first hand experience, athletes FREAK out when you take their long runs away. They FREAK out even more when you tell them to run easy 2 days in a row. But once they start to follow the plan and hit that first semi-long run with a little fatigued, BAM the light bulb goes off and they see the method to the madness. This is especially important when training for tri as it allows us, as coaches, to keep things moving instead of having to schedule 2 or 3 easy days. 

So as we head toward the off season and are starting to look to build endurance, save the time and muscle damage of those old runs and start cozying up to cumulative fatigue. And as always write us here at RPM for advice, to answer any questions you might have or if you are looking for that coach to take you to the next level.

How did you do?? Actual time vs Training time

The majority of our time is spent training for our athletic events. Tri's, marathons, ocean swims, you name it, the time we spend practicing dwarfs the time we actually race, even for those who race often. This is also true in team sports. Although it doesn't look like it, the NY Giants spend a ton of time practicing for the games they play. But there is a big difference when it comes to perceived outcomes. The sports teams usually have a really good idea of what they can do, and what they can't do, and game plan to match those abilities. They then go out and try to nail their plan. But many individual athletes have an unrealistic idea of what they can do come game day and because if it underperform. Let's look at how this happens and what you can do to perform to your potential on race day.

The most obvious difference is the participants in team sports have an extra pair (or more) of eyes evaluating their talent. Unbiased opinions of your talent and abilities are extremely important for you to develop a training plan that reflects your true abilities. Then your not wasting your time training for race goals that are too lofty, or even too low. A coach can also assess your weaknesses and make a plan to systematically improve them. Now being an endurance coach myself I have to report to you that this is extremely common! One of the biggest contributions I bring to the table for my athletes is in evaluating his/her abilities and preparing a program to best suit the needs of that particular athlete. Something those pre-fab plans cannot do.

So back to all that training time we started out talking about. If you spend the majority of you time training in zones and speeds that don't suit you, you are then practicing something you cannot pull off. Why waste all that time and energy? By training in zones that suit your heart rate and talent you will perform better on race day and may elevate your overall performance. Really? But who does that you say?? Well...

There has been some investigation done on how athletes do during a race when compared to how they trained. Only 30% of those studied where able to race at the pace they trained for and therefore met their goals. A tiny percentage, about 1%, were able to race FASTER than they trained. A whopping 70% raced some degree slower than their estimated, and trained at, race pace. What happened? Well by over estimating what they could do a majority of the athletes set themselves up for failure and in fact stunted their times. Let me give you a triathlon example: If you overestimate your ability in the swim and/or the bike, and go out faster than your body can truly handle, not only will your run be affected but it will affected in a BIG way! The time on the run will be exponentially slower than if you had a proper goal time on the first two events. In this case proper pacing when then have lead to an overall better time.

Where do you go from here? First I would seriously consul that you get a good coach. Ask around there are definitely some good live bodies out there that can be a big help. Let's face it between all the money you spend on equipment and the time you spend on training it is an awesome investment. Even just for a few months! Additionally I would look into obtaining one of Sally Edwards books on Heart Zones training. She has been doing it forever and is the best at it. Lastly take this off-season and run some tests. Find out your max heart rate, maybe even you VO2 Max, and set up some reasonable goals for the athlete that truly you are. Not only will it make the whole experience more satisfying but you may find out you have been practicing slower than you really are!

Okay you think your so smart....

Recently I came down with something that gave me a stuffy nose, sore throat, a bit of an ear ache, a slight fever and, well, just overall achyness. I wasn't dying but I was certainly not feeling good enough to participate in the Olympic Tri I was scheduled to do that morning. One of the recommendations I received from well wishers was to take some tylenol for my fever as it would make me more comfortable. When I heard this I immediately recalled the words of my good friend Dr Steve Johnson "you have a fever for a reason, its meant to kill off the invaders, let your body do what it needs to. Do you think your are smarter than your body?? It has gotten us through a couple million years I think it should know what its doing!"

Yeah...So where are you going with this Bobo?? Well it got me to thinking (and wondering) about another of our bodies responses and how we treat it. Inflammation and icing, or cyrotherapy if you will. It has always seemed a little counterproductive to me to combat the bodies normal response to any issue that arises. Tylenol for fever, ice for swelling, pepsi for a hangover. Is icing something we should actually be doing? Whose idea was this anyways? Couldn't the ice be better used in frozen margaritas? So here is some of what I found:

Inflammation is a necessary and normal response to an injury. The process increases blood flow to the area bringing healing nutrients to the damaged tissue as well as increases lymphatic flow away from the area removing damaged cells. You know what else inflammation does? It makes the boo boo hurt! If you have an area that hurts you will be less inclined to want to use it and therefore your body has the time it needs to fix it. Using an injured area can make the initial problem much worse. So far so good, I like what I am hearing.

Lets take a step back and talk about the lymphatic system. It is a secondary circulatory system that runs throughout your body helping to drain fluids and blood byproducts back into your bloodstream. Once those items have been delivered to your primary circulatory system they are either re-used or disposed of as necessary. Now this system is not directly attached to the heart and does not have valves in it. It is a free flowing low pressure system. If there is inflammation in an area the pressure of that swelling will cause flushing out of the area by the good out lymphatic system. But research has shown if you decrease that swelling it slows the outward flow and then, once the ice is removed, it causes the system back wash to the area actually increasing recovery time. And as we all know back wash sucks.

Most patients report the damaged area felt better after icing. But additional studies show there is no improvement in range of motion or decreased healing time with icing. It just decreases the swelling so you felt better so that us type A's triathletes could go out and exercise with our injuries sooner. No Bueno!

Interestingly compression without ice did not seem to have the same negative effects on recovery times that icing and compression did. But again the caveat is that with compression we improved how the area felt and then went and did our 56 mi bike/10 mi run brick anyways.

Now in all the studies and research there was a line were inflammatory response got out of control. That the inflammation itself began to restrict blood flow to the area and lymphatic flow out of the area. Unfortunately no study pointed to where this line of critical inflammation was drawn. But again they point to mild compression and elevation as the key treatment for this dilemma. Noticeably anti-inflammatories were not thought of very highly in how we treat inflammation. Besides there inherent side effects they again they masked and decreased our bodies response to the problem, decreasing healing and lengthening recovery times. When icing was recommended it was for very short periods of times (10 mins) and only for one application.

Finally having dealt with the medical field for a long, long time as well as having read tons of research papers and gone to paid for pharmaceutical conferences it comes down to a basic understanding of our bodies. If we catch something, hurt a joint or pull a muscle a healthy body is its own best friend. We are generally in good condition and are able to muster a stout defense to the insults our bodies receive. Don't try and mask or control your bodies response. Give it time, let it do its work and skip the schedule brick for that day and while your are recovering perfect that margarita recipe.

Making a case for going Easy!

I had a dream last night that I was on the Family Feud with Richard Dawson, I loved Richard Dawson, best Feud host ever! Anyways it was my turn at the toss up question and my team, The Lube, Chrissie Wellington, Mike Reilly and the lovely Jill Olausson, were all counting on my to come through. Richard shot out the question "a 100 tri coaches were surveyed on the following question... What is the biggest training mistake you see your athletes make??" I blurted out "Their Easy Workouts are too HARD!!"  Survey says 100! Going harder than you are suppose to during your scheduled easy days is a huge training error we see all the time!

Many athletes believe we coach types add easy days to their workout programs just to fill space. You know a way take up time between the hard workouts while we think of new ways to torture them. Then when they get to the aforementioned easy day he/she decides that since they actually made the effort of  doing the workout they are going to push it a little harder than prescribed and make it "worth" the effort. Then we silly coaches get back the report of our athletes weeks worth of workouts, let's say in a Garmin file download, and the efforts all look the same! HR's close to threshold and a bunch of steady efforts that are neither easy enough and then, consequently, not hard enough to get to achieve our goals.

Easy workouts fill the vital role of allowing giving us coaches a way of providing the athlete a gentler overload that we can apply in a higher volume without the inherent risk of injury that faster/harder workouts do. The Easy Workout keeps us introducing a stress your body, albeit a less harsh stress, to which must adapt. The formula to fitness remains the same, just gentler: Introduce stress in the form of a workout, allow the body to adapt to that stress, increased fitness, viola!

In the limitations of the space I have let me go into a few of the benefits of easy workouts. Let's start with muscle fiber recruitment. Basically there are 2 types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch. A loose definition indicates that fast twitch muscle are the more powerful and explosive muscle fibers. While slow twitch one have a lower firing range or contraction then their fast twitch brothers. Going easy allows us to recriute more of the slow twitch fibers and build them up. This building up of slowtiwtch fibers will come in very handy during the later stages of an endurance event after Mr. fast twitch fibers have started to fatigue. Going hard all the time blocks this recruitment and stunts our endurance bulding efforts.

Secondly slow twitch fibers are more adapt at burning fat for fuel. Now we have wealth of calories stored in our body in the form of fat which can be used to supply us with energy as our event progresses. It will also help "save" carbohydrates allowing the fast twitchers to use that as energy. When you are working out at that lower end of the effort scale you are burning ruffly 70% fat and 30% carbs. Now you can teach your body to burn more fat. The body will produce more enzymes needed to burn fat, and use less carbs even as your effort increases, if you put the work in up front and go easy.

Lastly easier workouts stimulate changes on a celluar level. Once you start practicing the art of burning more fat the mitochondria in your cells, the cells power plants, will start to grow to meet the new demand. Bigger mitochondria = bigger power plants = more power (I given' her all I got Cap'n, the dilythium crystal can't take much more!)

Besides all the benefits above, increased cappilary growth, gradual adaptation of your tendons to more strenuous activity and a uptick in your hemoglobin production can all be linked to a solid foundation of easy workouts in your training plan. Not to mention the fact that going easy one day allows your hard to be HARDER the next day, because your body has adapted and is ready for it.

Well I could go one forever but hopefully you, with the help of a coach or mentor, have defined your workout zones and you have a good understanding of what "easy" means to you. The athlete then just needs to follow through and actually go easy one those days. Adhereing to this simple principle will net you big results come race day.

I don't want to rub you the wrong way...

As athletes we are always striving to improve our performance. Maybe we are searching for that elusive  "PR," trying to correct our form or even just finding a greater comfort level when we are working out. We do interval sets, try cross training and add in a sprinkle of better equipment seeking more speed. Unfortunately, we often neglect a fundamental aspect of training: a maintenance plan for our muscles! We demand so much of our muscular system, pushing that endurance envelope, and we need to care for it so the muscles can meet those increased needs. One of the best ways to care for it, and thereby directly improving our performance, is with regular deep tissue massage. I recently sat down with Red Performance Multisport massage therapist of choice, Kelli Robbins, in her Claremont office and we chatted it up about massage.

Coach Bobo: Thanks for having me over Kelli, how long have you been rubbing people the right way, what's you background, how did you become a massage therapist??

K-Cricket: Woah, Bob, did we had too many extra shots of expresso in our Soy Chai Latte today? Well I became a massage therapist 7 years ago, two in my current location in Claremont, after an injury cut short my very promising athletic career. I turned to massage to help others improve their athletic experience as well as helping them work through injuries of their own. I attended school in San Bernardino, CA which consisted of 720 hours of training that led to me getting my State of California license. 

Jiminy Cricket, Kelli's favorite cartoon character!

Bobo: Okay maybe 3 shots of expresso but back to you, what areas of massage do you specialize in  K_Cricket?

Kelli: Why do you calling me K-Cricket? (umm ...I heard it was your Jiminy Cricket was your favorite cartoon character) Anyways Deep tissue, Trigger Point and Myofascial Release are the areas I mostly find myself involved in. It's definitely the greatest areas of need in the athletes I see here at my practice.

Bobo: Lets get to the meat of the issue (snickering to myself..) why do I need a massage?

Kelli: You need a lot more than a massage but as far as that is concerned let me lay it out for you:

Having a deep tissue massage at least once a week will help the athlete keep their muscles healthy, improving flexibility and maintaining relaxation. Its like preventive maintenance on your vehicle. If once a week isn't always possible twice a month is a good place to start, ramping up to weekly as your event approaches. Now specifically massage helps increase joint flexibility, pumps oxygen into the muscles (helping them to recover completely), elongates muscle fibers (a longer muscle can generate more power than a shorter one!) reduces spasms and cramping as well as reducing fatigue. 

Bobo: Seems like a no brainer to me!

Kelli: That's why even you understand it

Bobo: ??? Anyways what kind of timing, massage wise, should the athlete consider pre/post event?

Kelli: Well pre-event, while you are tapering and recovering from all your training, its good to get a massage 3-5 days out. Now this massage will help enhance circulation thereby completing that post training recovery. It will also reduce muscle and metal tension, further relaxing and elongating the muscles and getting them competition ready. Post race it good to get a light massage within 72 hours of finishing your race. This massage is geared to toward reducing the metabolic build up that occurs in the muscle after vigorous exercise as well as helping to reduce spasms

Bobo: What about some interesting Massage Trivia?

Kelli: Bob did you ever notice you are not normal, and who is Bobo?? Anyways how this for you: Bob Hope had a massage everyday and lived to be older than dirt. But seriously Runners tend to show up with very tight Iliotibial bands and Hamstrings. They would benefit from stretching those areas post exercise. Bikers greatest complaints are their calves as well as their ITs. Swimmers are chill and usually require overall muscle work but present with far less specific injuries. 

Bobo: Here is Kelli's favorite calf stretch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1HzSAuB-Vw and my favorite IT band stretch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0e8FPL787E

Kelli: Who are you kidding, your an athlete, you never have time to stretch. But seriously post workout stretching with a regular diet of massage is a great way to improve performance while preventing injuries!

Bobo: Thanks Kelli!! By the way Kelli is offering Red Performance Multisport athletes a discounted rate making it easier to get the massage you need. Just mention to her you are one of our athletes and you are good to go.  Here is Kelli's webpage so you can find her and make that appointment ASAP.

www.kellirobbins.massagetherapy.com

Note to reader: Although we actually did the interview and the facts Kelli gave on massage were true, I didn't actually call her K-Cricket (among other enhancements!).

Getting faster without breaking the bank!

Athletes in general, and triathletes specifically, love gadgets and supplements the promise improved performance and greater speed. In my 30 plus years in the tri world every season brings new equipment with a promise to make you faster. Heck if all these things worked I would be doing IM's in under 8 hours by now! Sure for thousands of dollars you can get a carbon bike, hook up a power meter, throw on a couple of Zipp wheels and head off for a new bike PR. But what if you don't have a bank account that allows such extravagance? What can your normal everyday tri guy do to get more speed and keep the mortgage company happy? Let me offer up some ideas.

First off everyone, and I mean everyone, should get and use a breath trainer (for example http://www.expand-a-lung.com). Besides being a triathlete I have been a Respiratory Therapist for 32 years. I have done pulmonary function tests on every body type out there. I have also tested people who have used breath trainers, they work! Simply put these cheap and easy to use little gadgets are weight lifting for your lungs and the muscles the help you to breath. All of the better athletes that I have tested have lung functions far above the normal individual. They can breath deeper and more forcefully then we can. This comes into play when they are working out and competing allowing them to process more oxygen and carbon dioxide then their competition. A breath trainer will help you increase you lung volumes and Forced Vital Capacity and allow you to blow (haha) away the competition. Pick any of the ones out there, read the studies they have done, I can tell you from a technical stand point they work. What are you waiting for??

If you reading this blog you are probably interested in triathlons or at least have incorporated some bike riding into you training. For speed as well as for health reason you would be wise to get a saddle that incorporates some type of pressure relieving design (one  example http://www.ismseat.com). Lets talk speed first. We will spend thousands on an aero bike, aero bars, drag reducing helmets and getting the proper fit for our bikes. Then while we are training and racing we can't stay in aero position because of discomfort, numbness or down right pain... well... down under! All that money is wasted as we sit up and do our best impersonation of a parachute till transition. A comfortable saddle that is designed to relieve that pressure will make you rides enjoyable, especially as they get longer. The ability to remain in aero position for the entire race can improve your speeds upwards of 5 mph. Not to mention the post ride health benefits of increased blood flow to the aforementioned area, making recovery easier and keeping everyone happy ; )

Lastly there is no denying aero equipment will make you faster. But after registration fees, travel costs, massages and buying something at the expo who has the cash for a Specialized Shiv?? Well lets look at what benefits you get from each item and then I will offer a solution:

Gear	Est. Price	Time Savings
TT bike w/aerobars, stock wheels	$3k-$5k	150 seconds
aero wheels	$2,000	180 seconds
aero bars	$150-$1K	120 seconds
TT helmet	$180	60 seconds
skinsuit	$100-$300	90 seconds

The above numbers are based on an relatively short 25 mile bike ride with no wind. For an IM try quadrupling those numbers, maybe throw in a little wind and dang you are talking some serious time! Now lets toss out the skin suit, just wear a kit that tight fitting, simple and sexy solution, done. Now look at that are wheel number! If we are talking an IM distance race you are looking at close to 15 minutes. Want big bang for little buck, RENT SOME! You can get top of the line Zipps, use them in your A race, look cool and dominate, BAM! Bob makes it easy again with a link http://www.racedaywheels.com

Happy training and Race Hard!

I'm a USAT Coach and, well, a Recipe too!

After more than a few years of practicing on any willing subject I have become an officially certified triathlon coach by USAT!! I have also joined Pro Triathlete Jim Lubinski at Red Performance Multisport to help bring our coaching services to the masses. So what better way to celebrate than with.... a Vegan Recipe!

A few times I have made some type of Cauliflower Kung Poa and had some requests for the recipe. What follows is, as best as I can remember (because I usually don't write them down!) the recipe. What is so great about this particular one is it is so pliable! Unlike a triathlete after an Ironman. You can add stuff (like Hoisin sauce which I often do) and throw in other items (like sautéed seiten which I get from Trader Joes.) This dinner goes awesome over a speciality rice, like black forbidden rice (forbidden yes, but you can use it just this once!) or noodles. Away we go....


Makes 4 servings, so if you are inviting like 8 people over, or me (because I love it!)...double it

 1 Med Sized Cauliflower head. (not one of the big MF'ers, like this guys head)

 Never failed a drug test (never took one either)

 2 tablespoons of Peanut oil

 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/4 cup high quality H20 mixed with 2 tablespoon cornstarch

Other Stuff
 1/2 cup  roasted peanuts
 10 whole dried red chili peppers
 4 green onions, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 2 Tablespoons Peanut oil

 

Saucey

 2 teaspoon sesame oil
 2 teaspoon chili paste with garlic
 4 tablespoons soy sauce
 2 tablespoon sherry
 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
 2 teaspoon sugar
 1/4 cup veggie broth
 3 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup warm veggie

Optional adds to sauce: 1 tablespoon graded ginger or Hoisin sauce

Use these if you can but not after catching a fly in them!

1) Take the cauliflower and cut that sucker up into bite size pieces, rinse it off (leaving it a little wet) and put in a resealable freezer bag. Then add the Cornstarch mixture and shake real good (like a polaroid picture). Now add peanut oil to a skillet (or a pan but skillet is cooler word). An fry up those suckers until golden brown and tender. Get them out of there before they burn and set aside.

2) In a smal bowl combine all the Saucey Ingerdients except for the last one! Leave it out of this, it has got nothing to do with your argument with me!! We will get back to this Saucey Saga later

3) In that there skillet put some more Peanut Oil and warm it up, then toss your peanuts and peppers in. Cook until the peppers turn a dark and ominous looking red color. Now take them out and place ever so gently into the bowl with your cauliflower. Ahh the anticipation grows!

4) Now take your green onions (or scallions or whatever you want to call them) and your garlic (no such thing as too much garlic) and fry for only a few seconds, don't you dare let that garlic burn. Now add the contents of the cauliflower bowl, then the Saucey Saga, let it all warm a bit and add then cornstarch mixture and turn up the heat a bit. Stir constantly until sauce thickens. You can add Black sesame seeds once the sauce is thick for color and a little after dinner fun of find the black sesame seed in your neighbors teeth.

Serve over rice

There you have it. Need another recipe? Need a swim lesson, or a coaching plan for an upcoming race, or even looking to drop a few pounds send me an email and we will get you on your way!

When your happy and you know it...

“I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear.  Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness.” ~Dalai Lama in The Art of Happiness





Last weekend the Triathlon Connection was well represented at two events in the desert: the Tour de Palm Springs and the Palm Springs half marathon. Being injured I was unable to attended but was able to read all about it on The Book. Smiling faces, good food and great reports of the day led me to believe everyone had a great time. I think there is message we can all take home from the events, let me explain.

If the Dalai is right, and I believe he is, we are all seeking peace and happiness in our lives. Times when we can sit down with a calm mind and a smile on our face, enjoying life to the fullest. It certainly seemed like some of those times were had this weekend for sure.

Happiness is always right there for us to grab but we always seem to want to put rules on it. "I will be happy when I get a new tri bike" "...when I qualify for Kona" "...when I beat Bob." These rules are just barriers that actually prevent us from being happy! We have no control over these rules we erect to happiness. After all what if we flat during our Ironman and wind up not qualifying. Was the last 3, 6 or 8 months of training wasted? All the time we got to spend with our friends worthless? 




                                                
The pictures and stories of the weekend showed a bunch of people having a great time together! Enjoying each others company to the max. Was it because the event was "untimed," maybe the run was too early in the season and expectations haven't yet been erected or....

... was it because of the pizza?








I am not trying to be change your life or give you a headache thinking this through but just trying to pass an idea. We are all very lucky to be able to do what we do. We are accompanied in this adventure by many loving and caring individuals who are a just a ton of fun to be around. So as we embark on our season of training and racing let's enjoy all the happiness our lives bring to us every day and try not to let it depend on the time we cross the finish line.

Improve Cadence Gradually to Reduce Injury & Improve Efficiency

Prancing is cool!

Whenever I am asked on how to improve one's running I tell almost everyone they need to prance more! Prance? They ask. Why yes indeed you need to prance when you run. How does one prance? Well you increase your running cadence. Increaseing your cadence forces you to a become a mid foot striker, (long strides = slow cadence) and moves your hips into a proper forward position. Why Prance in the first place? I ain't no bambi! Well first its more energy efficient, second its easier on the knees and third all the fast runners are doing it!! Here is a great article from Altra footwear founder Golden Harper on how to get your cadence up! And maybe I won't be prancing past you at you the next race!

Heel striking boo!!!

Gradually increasing the steps you run in a minute—known as cadence—may be the single most effective way to reduce high impact over-striding and improve running efficiency. Consciously monitoring and improving your cadence can improve your run times and reduce nagging knee pain.

Is changing to a 180 Cadence always correct?
Runner’s World recently published an article on cadence citing research from the 1984 Olympic Marathon. At the 1984 Olympics, famed coach and running researcher Jack Daniels counted the strides of distance runners as they raced. Daniels discovered nearly every runner took at least 180 steps per minute. Citing Daniels’s observation, experts have long suggested that in order to minimize over striding, reduce impact on the legs and maintain forward momentum—runners should always aspire to nail that magic 180 number.

The expert advice for runners to increase their cadence is well founded. However, the mistake comes when runners try to reach the magic 180 steps instantly. Additionally, assuming that everyone has to be at or above 180 is challenging when you consider genetic differences, running surfaces, individual style and other factors. Most runners run with a much lower cadence, and changing too rapidly can be difficult and feel awkward.

After teaching running technique for nearly two decades, I’ve found the best plan is a 3–6 week transition period where runners increase their cadence by about 12-20 steps per minute for every run during this period. After 3–6 weeks of muscle adaption, the runner can increase their cadence by another 12-20 steps if necessary. Although one or two adaptation sessions are sufficient for most runners, you can repeat as many times as necessary to find your sweet spot. For most runners, the sweet spot is somewhere between 170 and 185 steps per minute.

Finding Your Cadence

To improve your cadence you need to know what your actual cadence number is. Of course, you could simply count how many times one foot hits the ground in a minute and then multiply by two, but there are other ways. First off, remember that you will get a more accurate count in the middle or end of a run when running on a flat surface. I like to think that measuring for 20 seconds is a bit easier, especially for those who don’t want to count for a full minute. Simply count how many times one foot hits the ground in 20 seconds, then multiply by six to find your cadence. For example, if you count 25 steps in 20 seconds, your cadence is 150.

Improving Cadence

There are many ways to improve your cadence, here’s a few:

• 20 Second Count: Regardless of how many steps (on one foot) you count in 20 seconds, you just want to attempt to add two or three steps in 20 seconds to improve your cadence by 12-18 steps per minute. This is easy to do and can be done with nothing but a stopwatch in the middle of any run.
• 30/20 rule: The 30/20 rule is popular among those who are at a level where they want to have a 180 cadence. If you are shooting for 180, simply count 30 foot falls on one leg in 20 seconds. If you’re trying to be around 170, simply shoot for 28-29 in 20 seconds.
• Run with a metronome: There’s an app for that! …Unless of course you want to use the one on your piano! Simply set your metronome for your desired target cadence, and run to the beat. You can also use sites like JogTunes to find music with beats that match your desired turnover. A cadence meter for your iPhone is a great tool as well. You can check out the iFit app or iFit efficiency app.

*Remember that if your target cadence still feels strained after a couple of weeks, it is probably too high and you should reduce it by around 5-6 steps per minute.

                                    

Get someone to film you as you run.

 Here I am about to midfoot strike

 and my hips are forward while 

running last few miles of the 

SurfCity Marathon 2012

It takes along time to build stamina

 to keep form the entire race!

Wow Nice Shirt Bob!!

Our internal research at Altra shows that runners who put on an Altra Zero Drop™ shoe improve cadence dramatically when they start running in our shoes. The reason for this is simple: Zero Drop shoes allow a runner’s landing point to shift closer to the body, which reduces the amount of time on the ground and causes a quicker step. Since most running shoes have midsoles that are twice as thick in the heel as they are in the forefoot, and also twice as heavy, they cause the body and foot to engage the ground earlier in the stride cycle than they otherwise would. The thicker, heavier heel slows down your cadence.

Wearing a Zero Drop shoe allows a landing or footfall nearly identical to how a person would run without a shoe on—with the foot  more parallel to the ground and closer to the body before engaging the ground. This increases cadence, which has been shown to reduce joint impact and improve running efficiency.

Slightly different muscles will be emphasized or used at first while adapting to a higher cadence, but once adapted, running efficiency will almost surely improve.

It is important to note that while there is a slight change with faster paces, cadence and pace are not highly related. Run in place at 180 beats per minute. How fast are you running? That’s correct, 0 miles per hour. Now consider that in a recent world record setting performance of the mile, the winner had a cadence of only 204. That means that he only took 12 more steps per leg per minute than the standard 180 that is recommended for an average runner in a marathon. That’s not a very big difference considering that he is moving well over twice the speed of the average marathoner.

If you’re a distance runner dealing with nagging knee pain, or if you’re just looking to improve your 10k time, take a look at your cadence. Gradually improving your cadence could just be the thing that improves your efficiency, reduces risk of injury, and allows you to run with Zero Limits. 

Once you learn to up your cadence, midfoot strike and push

 those hips forward you too will be jumping for joy!

Interview with The Coach, Tony Troccoli

Tony's favorite cartoon character, pretty fitting!

Being laid up for awhile and it gave me a chance to sit down (or lay down in my case) with the man behind Triathlon Connection, Tony Troccoli. It was a no holds barred interview where I got to ask any question I wanted to and he had to answer!

Let me hit you with a little background info first and how I came to be a member of Triathlon Connection and my relationship with Tony. My wife Jill and I had lived in Northern New England for most of our adult lives. We had times out of the area here and there but New Hampshire had been our home for awhile, yeah cold, snowy grey NH. And so it came to pass that we got sick and tired of the cold, not those Bluebird snow days where we could ski and snowshoe all day, but all those other grey and windy bonechilling days that eventually would give way to Mud Season, then Black Fly Season, which passed into Mosiquito Season, then one day of Summer, then Leaf Peeper Season, and then November and we start all over again! Yuck! We needed a change of scenery and wound up in SoCal. Being an athlete I searched out running and tri-clubs and found a pool before we even picked a house to live in, hey first things first! I joined Socal Daybreakers and LA Tri club before we even moved. After arriving here I found LA Tri was not my cup of tea and began to look for another option, one that was close to home. During my morning runs with the Daybreakers, I had the occasion to chat with this strange dude (strange because he was nice and approachable, 2 things that are abnormal to us New Hamphire people!). He told me about his tri club and that I should join. Heck, I thought, if he is running a tri club it must be a good one, and well it IS! The club is truly a reflection of its leader, we are a caring and dedicated bunch. One that feels more like a group of family and friends instead of a high intensity tri club.

My chat with Tony seems to have come at a crossroads for both him and the club he started back and has grown, along with the help of his awesome wife Sinta, since 2004. Tony first met Sinta, then a member of the LA tri club, during some training rides with Cycling Connection. Sinta was new to group rides and was having a hard time not getting dropped by the group. Tony would stay back and help pull Sinta to the end of the ride. As time passed Sinta needed less and less help till she was good enough to hang with the group without Tony's help, but she still rode with Tony, something that did not go unnoticed by coach! When Tony Started Tri Connection the numbers were small and sometimes it was only Tony and Sinta going out to train, but with a housing boom occuring in Rancho and with the steady support of Corey from Coates Cyclery, the club began to grow. Sinta helped Tony with the Website and it is hard to think of one without the other, they certainly seem like they were made for each other! Today TC's number exceeds 200 members who stretch from the desert to Glendora. Its has become a big job to run the club, as well as have a full time job, as well as coach other athletes and oh by the way keep up some level of training yourself. So Tony and TC find themselves at a time of change, a time that will require more participation from its membership as the club grows and moves into the future.

Tony had been active as an athlete who participated in sports that used a ball as their main focus until  he was involved involved in a terrible motorcycle accident in1989 that robbed him of the use of his left arm and one he was lucky to come out of it alive. Recovery from any bad accident is tough but one that reminds you of it effects on a daily basis is even tougher. He was left to chart a new course and found, although difficult at first, he could still ride a bike. After becoming involved ultra cycling, even completing the California Triple Crown (Three 200 mile rides in one calendar year!), he had become enamored with the idea of triathlon. His favorite triathletes were Ironman Champion Mark Allen and some french IM dude who trained using a HR monitor (a real pioneer) which created an idea for Tony: He wanted to be an Ironman! Having run some in high school all that was needed was to learn had to swim, well one handed that is, which he learned for the sole purpose of finishing an IM . Soon he developed a technique and felt confident enough to enter Ironman Canada in 1999. He triumphantly finished the race and upon his return from Pentictan dug out his old helmet from the crash, a symbol of what had happened and how it had changed him, and tossed it in the trash. Oh sure he was different now, but it wasn't because of his scars, it was because he was an Ironman! Tony still harbors some athletic goals, Wildflower in less than 6 hours as well finishing an Ironman under 12 hours, and outrunning me.

Tony has raced a ton, I tried to pin him down to a number but I wasn't able to, let's just say a lot (and a lot of entry fees too!) but what he really loves to do now is coach. Not just the kind of coach that show up with a whistle and a stop watch but someone who gets to know you, your lifestyle, what makes you tick, what he tries to do is build that relationship so the athlete and the coach are a team. Working toward a common goal, knowing full well that not everyone has the time or desire to train 25 hours a week. He feels he learns as much from those he teaches or coaches as they learn from his experiences. His proudest achievements are from coaching individuals who have children, jobs and relationships that are important to them yet they strive to be an Ironman. To those people who think of getting to an Ironman maybe as impossible as walking on the moon, its those individuals Tonys loves to work with and help. When those athletes cross the finish line he is crossing it with them and at those times he as as proud as when he is crossing it himself.

 Who would play Tony in a movie? He thinks it should be Martin Sheen.

While I think it should be....

Let me hit you up with some stats: Tony Troccoli was born in 1965 and he is of Italian and Spanish decandaent, he races with Zoots and rides a Cervelo. One of our clubs favorite saying is swim, ride, run, eat, sleep, repeat well Tony's favorite food is Angel Hair Pasta! A couple of Tonyism's:" If you gonna yak then get in the back!" or "if you are yakking you are not working hard enough!" YES he has done a race in a speedo only! It was the the Tinsel tri and he has a picture of it, luckily we don't have it for this article. He also see a lot of people enter tri's and triathlon as awhole untrained and unprepared. He has ambitions to write a book, one written from the normal triathletes point of view. Not a book to teach you how to become an elite triathlete but someone who actually has a life and wants to incorporate triathlon while still keeping their everyday life. In fact to me it seemed like the book is almost already written Tony just needs the time to type it up.

Hopefully I have provided you with a brief glimpse of Tony and what has gotten him to where he is today in the world of triathlon.

The author and Tony square off for a hard hitting interview!

 

Altra Test Drive

I while back I mentioned I was testing out some new products, well the one I am reviewing today are my running shoes from a fairly new shoe company: Altra http://www.altrazerodrop.com

Me kicking it with my new Altra running shoes!

As athletes we all get into our routines and it usually takes an act of god for us to switch equipment, our style or our pre-race routine. Well my lightning bolt came in the form of some sharp pain and swelling behind the metatarsals on my right foot. It persisted for quite awhile and even ruined the run portion of my Ironman Coeur d'Alene. I immediately thought it was due to my new running shoes, but like I said I don't like to switch equipment and I hadn't really, but my old style shoes had been phased out and I had gotten the new and improved version. Since I am a fairly neutral runner whose shoes wear out pretty evenly I switched back to my old worn shoes but the pain persisted. So I grudgingly went to the podiatrist.

Dr Tepper, (who by the way has a running background  http://www.drtepper.com ) spent plenty of time with me. He examined my gait, watched me run on the treadmill and looked over my running shoes. He diagnosis was that my toe box in my new shoes was squeezing my toes together thereby not allowing them to flex in a natural manner. The switch back to my old shoes did not work because the swelling, although minor, made even that toe box too small. He explained the the toes need to spread out and flex as we move from mid foot strike to the forefoot and eventually lift off the ground as the other foot moves into position. He was great in demonstrating this and showing just how my mechanics had been compromised by the new shoes. He recommended I got orthotics to help my feet perform the way they were intended. But his excellent demonstrations had already pointed me in one direction: Altra!

Yes Dr. Tepper sounded just like a commercial I had recently seen for Altra running shoes. Wide toe box shoe so your toes would behave properly, zero drop so you feet were in the proper position as the landed and moved through to liftoff. A shoe made to keep you feet healthy!

Instinct 1.5

So I got me some of the Altras, specifically the Instinct 1.5 , and they are awesome!! Lightweight, comfortable, easy on your feet and they make you much faster (ok I just through that one in!) Out of the box I ran in them for 4 miles and immediately felt a difference in my form. Now Altra cautions you to break them in slowly but I am pretty limber and a midsole sticker so I just went for it. The shoe is awesome for me and has me running mile after stress free mile.

Tech Specs: Instinct 1.5 Minimal cushion training shoe. Full length A-Bound layer atop the midsole cushioning. Heel to to offset is 0mm (zero drop) with overall heel height at 16mm and 16mm at the forefoot (not including the insole) Weight on men's shoe is 8.9 oz and women's is 7.7 oz. The women's and men's shoe are built slightly different with the women's shoes built specifically for their running needs.

Lone Peak trail shoes from Altra

Altra can be found locally at Top Speed Running http://www.topspeedrunning.com and they will let you run with them on their treadmill. If you a feeling good about them already I have become a Altra Ambassador (because I loved the shoes so much) and can order some for you at 20% retail. New this spring Altra will have a tri shoe as in addition to their trail and street shoes. Give'm a tri!

New Products review

Hey new year so time to tryout some new products!! I have been looking for some solutions to a few nagging problems I have had over the years and my search led me to two new products that are worthy of your considerations!!


First for those who know me I am a sweater! No, not someone who is especially hairy and looks like he has a sweater on even when his shirt is off, no I sweat. In fact I am nothing but a giant sized water filtration system. ( http://purlette.com/#!/main  Purleete the best water filters around but that's another product review!) When I did the sweat test I found that on average I sweat roughly a gallon an hour, give or take, depending on conditions. So I need to replace fluid and electrolytes, big time. I tried out gatorade for awhile and it was OK for replacement but when I tried to eat something on top of it oy, it gave me gastric distress (someone call 911 or at least step back!). My search led me to The Secret Drink Mix Formula at http://www.skratchlabs.com/ Allen Lim has been involved in exercise nutrition and physiology for years and has slowly developed a product that seems like it was designed for me.

The taste is light and easy on your stomach, in fact just as Dr Lim describes, easier than water. I can drink a ton of it and never feel bloated or ready to hurl! Mixing a half scoop for every 8 oz gives you about 120 calories per water bottle. Now you can't survive on just this but you can ingest plenty and it helps you get your calories in. I have been able to do Olympic tri's on just this drink mix. In addition to the mix Dr Lim sells a cookbook with recipes to make REAL food to eat during a race. IF you are like me you have had it with gels and gu's. This product get a very high recommendation from me and I would run, not walk, to the the computer and order some today!!!

I will review my new running shoes Altra's http://www.altrazerodrop.com/ in my next blog entry!