gdp's Comments

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Ironman Nutrition

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:16:51 +0000

Hi Luke, What seems to be confusing you? What was your nutrition plan looking like originally? Many people confuse a good nutrition race day plan with \\\'eating healthy\\\'. You don\\\'t need low-glycemic carbohydrates while racing, that will only delay the time it takes your body to process the carbohydrate into useable fuel. Simple, high-glycemic carbohydrates keep your body from tapping into your glycogen stores. If you have any questions...ask away.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Tri Bike or Road Bike for long course triathlon

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:11:02 +0000

Hi Colleen,

I think it's very hard to give you a straight up answer without looking at your position on a bike. �Tri bikes certainly help with a better position while riding in the aero bars. �But if you have a hard time staying in the aero bars, or plan to ride and race a lot of hilly courses there's no reason you can't set yourself up well on a road bike. �The main benefit to Tri bikes is that they open up your hip angle and keep you from reaching for the aero bars. �I think the step up from your current bike will be a huge help no matter what you choose. �If you're thinking longer term, you may want to just go straight to a Tri bike. �That will save you another purchase down the road.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Tri Bike or Road Bike for long course triathlon

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:42:00 +0000

Hi Steve, thanks for your comment. Comfort is important, for sure, but you can't dismiss the benefits of aerodynamics. If you're set up correctly on a tri bike you will go much faster than using a normal road bike. Yes, the road bike position is more comfortable and always will be, but if you ride in the aero position enough in training you can easily get through 180km feeling ready to run fast. As professional Ironman athletes, we can honestly say you'll never finish a 180km TT feeling 100% comfortable. Our necks, backs, shoulders, crotches are always somewhat sore by the end of it. Yes, if you're set up so poorly that you can't stay in your aero position for the entire race, then there is not much point to a tri bike. Or, as we've seen before, if some folks are too scared to stay in the aero bars on the downhills - perhaps a road bike would be a better option as well. Looking at your Lance Armstrong and Indurain comment...they were constrained by UCI rules that only allowed their seats to be 4cm (maybe more) behind the bottom bracket. They could not be any further forward, no matter what. Had they not had those rules they would have had much different positions in their time trial bikes. Sitting further forward allows you to be more aerodynamic without closing off your hip angle. It's a worthy change that can save incredible amounts of time in an Ironman. The right amount of training and proper set up will get you through the day. All the best, Trevor and Heather Wurtele

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Pre race breakfast

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:02:33 +0000

As an addition to this post - For Ironman Arizona, 2011 Trevor went with gluten free, blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Topped with almond butter and jam, butter and cinnamon honey, almond butter and real maple syrup. Topped that off with Ultragen, coffee, banana, We'd say it worked very well - 8:22 overall time and a strong 2:51 Ironman marathon.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : The rules of the road(ie)

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:21:49 +0000

Or not.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Toe spreaders

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:17:16 +0000

Most pharmacies have them. Probably in the nail polish aisle:)

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Strengthen your feet

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:20:19 +0000

Hi Barb, Thanks for the question. You may want to look at doing a bit of bare foot walking. Walking on a beach for 10 minutes a few times per week, perhaps some clean grass or rubber running track. You really have to be careful with bare foot \\\'running\\\', but once your feet are strong enough to tolerate it, it\\\'s a great little tool to have. In our opinion some people go WAY overboard with it. We use it now and again simply to work a few foot muscles that we would otherwise not use in a running shoe. However, we\\\'re now at the point where we run in racing flats 80% of the time so that keeps our feet fairly strong. I stress - start with walking and don\\\'t move into trying a bare foot jog (and a short one at that) for quite some time. Cheers!

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Ironman Nutrition

Sun, 1 May 2011 22:35:29 +0000

Hi Chip, Thanks for your question. Sometimes we do mix liquid shot with water. For a full Ironman, however, we tend to simply fill up a normal water bottle with about 2000 calories of liquid shot. We usually use a clear water bottle for the liquid shot and mark it in quarters so we can see how much we\\\'ve consumed during the race. When we said \\\"We usually mix our bottles to that concentration\\\" we were talking about the drink mixes. In a half ironman we do sometimes dilute the liquid shot with water simply to make it even easier to swallow. Another factor to consider is the weather. Sometimes a race like Lake Placid can go either way. If it\\\'s a cold day you may end up consuming less water for every calorie. When you\\\'re racing, try not to over think it. Just have a general plan and pay attention to how you\\\'re feeling physically, that can tell you a lot.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Strides on a treadmill

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:46:51 +0000

Yes, I typically perform a triple sow-cow upon my treadmill dismount. Errrr, that\\\'s figure skating, never mind. :)

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Computrainer or Mag-trainer example workout

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:45:19 +0000

Thanks for your question. Most people do have a higher max HR while running as opposed to running. More important, however, is deciding whether or not this measurement will affect the way you perform in either event. More than likely it won\\\'t make any difference. If you\\\'re basing some training zones off of your max HR perhaps you could also include some other form of measurement. This is where using power on your bike can be very beneficial.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Ironman Nutrition

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:11:51 +0000

Sort of. We\\\'re sponsored athletes. We did, however, buy their products ourselves before joining up with them.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : The Key to Kona

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:33:14 +0000

Hi Heather, Sorry for taking so long to reply to your question. The swim skins are great for sure, but they aren't going to help you shave off minutes on your swim. Really, the only place they can save you a significant bit of time is in the transition area, or if your triathlon race kit just will not work in the water. That way it's just a matter of pulling off the suit and having your race kit underneath. The first year we did Kona as age groupers we swam without swim skins. Heather wore her race bottoms and a tight sports bra/bathing suit top. Then in transition put on her tri jersey. I, being a guy, simply wore my race shorts and no top. That said, had we had some extra money at the time I'm sure we would have bought one. They look good, feel good, and can perhaps give you a bit of a mental edge on race day. No matter what - don't forget your bodyglide or vaseline, ocean swims are tough on the skin! Good luck to you.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Being Present

Sun, 3 Oct 2010 21:59:47 +0000

Good luck next weekend!!

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Ironman Nutrition

Sun, 3 Oct 2010 21:58:56 +0000

Hi Colin,
We do go into an Ironman with a set plan, or idea anyway, of how many calories we'll consume per hour. For both of us, we aim for approximately 400 calories per hour on the bike, all of them from carbohydrates. On the run it's more like 250 calories per hour. Fluid on the other hand is a tricky one. That really changes depending on the temperature of the day itself. General rule of thumb on a day with normal temperatures is to drink at least 1.25 liters of water (plain water) for every 100 grams of carbohydrate (400 calories). We usually mix our bottles to that concentration. When we start taking in calories from gel (Liquid Shot in our case) we make sure to consume enough water so our body doesn't leach any from the cells in order to digest the carbohydrate. Again, we've never been so precise as to know exactly how much water we take in...that really depends on the day. Just make sure you don't get thirsty!

And yes, we change it up based on how we're feeling. I'm sure there are times when we consume closer to 500 calories in an hour on the bike, but there will also be times where we forget to take in enough, so it balances itself out. If you can somehow keep track of how much you've consumed and check up on yourself every hour, tha\'s best.

Keep in mind that this is for an Ironman...we do things quite differently for shorter races.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Speedwork: treadmill or not?

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:27:29 +0000

Well, most treadmills I've seen will do at least a 3 minute kilometer. There aren't many people in the world that need much faster than that to put together an extremely hard, and very beneficial speed workout. But yes, a mix of treadmill and real life terrain is ideal.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Eat well on your rest days

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:18:16 +0000

Hi Chuck, Thanks for the question. We've heard of a similar approach - training without carbohydrate. The thought there is that your body will then have to become very efficient at converting fat and protein into usable sugars. We've seen people try this, and we've seen the same people bonk VERY badly. Whether they then improved their bodies ability to convert fat and protein into usable energy, we have no idea. Very skeptical that it would work as intended. The idea behind a rest day is to let your muscles recover and refuel for future workouts. In order to do that properly you will most definitely need some carbohydrates. It is, however, good to be selective on the types of carbohydrates you take in during your rest day. Make the healthy, low glycemic choices, as opposed to the simple sugars. But, definitely don't leave out the fat and protein either. Immediately following a workout you can jump on the simple sugars. Dextrose and Glucose are the best type of post (and during) training fuels, they'll help get your recovery started right away.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Monitor your resting heart rate

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:54:38 +0000

Well Janice, If that\\\'s a real comment and you are indeed feeling those symptoms, you may (should) want to go get that checked out. Provided you can still dial a phone.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Win Ultragen by First Endurance

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:00:48 +0000

Great swim - may even go do that one right now! But, what the heck is 4 x 15 pigs on the wall?

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Time to get a Training Log

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:32:14 +0000

Hi Colin, We\\\'ve used a few of them: WorkoutLog, Beginnertriathlete, and now we\\\'re on Triblogs. We prefer the layout and usability of Triblogs, great charting features, an area to keep track of physical tests, it also has a back end for a coach(they can look at all their athletes with one login). Beginnertriathlete has some cool GPS features where you can upload your garmin files. WorkoutLog has a good reputation, but there\\\'s nothing special there - and it\\\'s not free like BT and Triblog. Hope that helps.

Ironman Triathlon Tips : Cabohydrates and Endurance Sport

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:08:41 +0000

Hi Matt, I know you're on the First Endurance site a fair bit - have you tried the EFS liquid shot? Even if you were to use another gel (chocolate #9 tastes great if you're looking for a flavor change) you'd still apply the same dilution plan. Grams of CHO/Millileters of Water to get a percentage somewhere around 7%. That's a hard solution to hit on the run if all you can do is drink from little aid station cups. Keep in mind as well, if you drink the Gatorade or Cola provided at most Ironman events then start taking gels (especially ones with fat) without plain water you'll quickly start getting a very high carbohydrate concentration sitting in your stomach/gut. If you were to use Choc #9 I'd be more inclined to pull them out on the bike where the intensity is lower. Just make sure to follow them up with sufficient water and you'll be good. On the shorter races this isn't soooo much of an issue because your body will be sufficiently hydrated going in, but still looking for something around 7-10% solution is smart.