Sport Nutrition Product Review - EVO1 vegan meal replacement

First Endurance
Salt Lake City, Utah
Firstendurance.com

About the Company from the website:

First Endurance was started in 2002 because endurance athletes weren’t getting the nutrition they deserved. Like you, the founders had struggled with bonking, cramping and having to ‘make deals with themselves’ to get across the finish line or even just to make it home. They saw their friends dealing with the same dilemmas and knew endurance nutrition could be better. The existing endurance nutrition companies didn’t offer products that met the needs of serious endurance athletes. These companies ignored the small, high-end group of dedicated athletes. They’d been working in the sports nutrition industry for a number of years and knew about the latest clinical research that was being done on endurance athletes utilizing new ingredients and technologies to dramatically improve endurance and performance. It was more expensive than what was currently available to endurance athletes, but it was a lot better. The idea was simple. They wanted to give serious endurance athletes access to formulas that are developed for one specific reason – to maximize endurance performance.

Product Reviewed:

• EVO1 All-In-One Superfood (Chocolate, Vanilla Creme) 

Other Products:

• Pre-race/During: EFS Liquid Shot; EFS Drink Mix; EFS Pro-Drink Mix 
• Recovery: Ultragen; EVO1 
• Daily: Multiv; Multiv-Pro; Optygen; OptygenHP; EVO1

Label Claims:

• Plant-Based 
• 100% Vegan 
• Allergen Free 
• No artificial flavors
• No colors
• No sweeteners 
• No added sugar

Nutrition Facts Examples: Chocolate (Gluten-Free)
Serving Size: One packet 

• Calories: 240 
• Total Fat: 6 g 
• Total Carb: 26 g 
• Fiber: 3 g 
• Sugars: 20 g 
• Protein 21 g 
• Calcium: 60 mg 
• Magnesium: 118 mg 
• Sodium: 210 mg 
• Potassium: 220 mg

Ingredients: Organic sugarcane, pea protein, organic brown rice protein, flax seed, medium chain triglycerides, fruit and vegetable blend (banana, apple, blueberry, carrot, spinach, broccoli, oats, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, chia, millet), cocoa powder (processed with alkali), silicon dioxide, inulin, sunflower lecithin, natural flavors, sea salt, monk fruit.

Our notes: 

• Gritty aftertaste - may mix better in a powerful blender
• Mixes well with water in a blender-bottle -  no clumps
• Comparable taste to other vegan protein powders
• Not ideal as a meal replacement (only 240 calories) but appropriate as a post-workout recovery drink
• Ideal drink for plant-based athletes or those who are unable to tolerate animal-based proteins like whey and casein. 

Benefits of pool toys for triathletes

Benefits of Pool Toys

Most age-group triathletes come into the sport with little to no swimming experience. Because swimming is very skill specific, most triathletes lack the proper body position, alignment and posture to swim efficiently for continuous efforts. Poor swimming technique often brings added stress and unnecessary energy expended, which may cause frustration, anxiety and exhaustion while swim training. Because every triathlete should be swim-fit in an effort to feel confident at the start of a triathlon, the use of pool toys may help improve swimming mechanics which can also help to boost swim fitness.  Pull Buoy - A pull buoy is a tool – not a crutch. A buoy provides assistance to help you hold horizontal alignment while also giving you buoyancy. When you swim with a buoy, pay close attention to what your body feels like with the added "lift". Let the buoy be an aid to teach you how to hold a more efficient body position without dragging your legs behind you.   Ankle strap - The ankle strap (also called an ankle band or ankle lock) is an effective tool to force you to be more “taut” in the water. By eliminating the kick from your freestyle stroke,you are forced to use your upper body, instead of your legs, to propel you forward in the water (the more efficient way to swim). The ankle strap also teaches you how to catch and hold on to more water as you push the water behind you. The ankle strap will minimize excessive hip rotation and will force you to swim with a higher cadence, which is important for open water swimming. Although the ankle strap may feel like torture at first, it quickly alerts you to poor swimming technique. If you struggle swimming 25 yards with only the ankle strap, start by using a buoy between your thighs (not ankles) or use the ankle strap combined with buoyancy shorts. Overtime, try to eliminate the added buoyancy and only use the ankle strap.   Paddles - Paddles are an added strength component to swimming so be mindful that paddle work is tough/exhausting and your paddles should not be much larger than your hand. You want to think of the paddle as an extension of your forearm position. Paddles like the Finis Agility Paddles help promote an early catch and early vertical forearm position. Because agility paddles do not have a strap, this requires a palm positive hand position to correct incorrect technique when your hand enters the water and pulls through the stroke.  Paddles should be used wisely as poor form with a paddle can cause shoulder issues (or may exhaust you). Paddles are designed to help you increase pulling intensity and load but they can also help you improve your catch, forcing you to maintain a high elbow position under the water, throughout your entire pull phase. If you are feeling sore in your shoulder socket while using paddles, you are not using the correct muscles or your paddle is too large.   Fins - Sure, you may feel super-fast when you use fins but they are designed to help with swimming fluency in the water - not to help you become a better kicker. Fins for kick sets can help with ankle flexibility while teaching you how to kick from your hips and not from your feet/knees. Fins also help you move smoothly through the water when focusing on upper body technique. When you use fins, don’t overemphasize kicking. Save your legs for the land!  Fins can also teach you how to kick with plantar flexion (pointed toes instead of breaking with your feet and pointing your toes to the ground). We recommend the TYR cross blade fins - rigid on the sides with flexibility at the end of the fins.    Snorkel - A snorkel is a training tool that helps you focus on your technique without the disruption of turning your head to breathe. Because many stroke flaws happen when you are tired or have inefficient breathing patterns, by using the snorkel, you eliminate the breathing part of your stroke and you are no longer interrupted every few strokes (or every other stroke) to catch a breath. Without the continuous head rotation from breathing, you can create good motor patterns regarding the symmetry of your stroke, alignment and body position. The snorkel also helps with body and head position and alignment. For good head position in the water, you should be looking at the bottom of the pool but slightly in front of you. Eyes should look in the direction you are moving. Your hands should be dropping in the channel between the midline and shoulder line of the body. If you struggle with the snorkel, suggest to invest in a nose clip to use with the snorkel.  To continue your triathlon swimming education, suggest to subscribe/listen to the Tower 26 Be Race Ready podcast.

Trimarni All-Levels Camp - Behind the scenes

Thanks to our amazing camp SAG/photographer Joey, here are some of the behind the scene moments from our camp. In no particular order.....enjoy!!

Trimarni All-Levels Camp - Day 4 recap

The last day of training camp is typically filled with mixed emotions - happiness, exhaustion, satisfaction, sadness, joy. Friendships are formed and the realization that in just one more sleep, it's time to return to normal life. One of the best parts of a triathlon training camp is the escape from every day stressors, responsibilities, excuses and distractions and the ability to focus only on training and doing things well.

The other great part about a training camp is putting yourself into environments that would otherwise feel slightly out of your comfort zone. New terrain, conditions and weather are likely to be experienced at a training camp but with the support and enthusiasm of fellow campers, it's easy to shut off the brain and just get to work with a great attitude.

For our last workout of training camp, we started with a long dynamic warm-up at the camp house/lodge before the start of the run. All of our campers had about 30-minutes to warm-up around the Furman Lake (off the Swamp Rabbit Trail) whereas some campers covered more/less distance than others. However, every camper was given the opportunity to warm up as needed without feeling pressure to run faster/slower than what was comfortable, with coach Karel, assistant coach Joe (on a mountain bike) along with myself running alongside our campers.

Once we arrived to the meet-up point for our main set (back gate of Furman University, close to Roe Ford road), Karel explained the main set which was:
3-4 x .67 mile loops on rolling terrain with each loop covering about 200 feet elevation gain.
90 sec - 2 min rest between each loop

As you can see from the course profile, there's a gradual downhill section before a gradual uphill, which then gets a little steep at the top. Then a downhill, followed by a false flat uphill, finishing with a gradual downhill to finish the loop. There are two turns on the course (not counting the start to each loop). 

Our campers ran a warm-up loop (to make 5 loops total) to understand the terrain. The focus was to start with good form, gradually build the effort on the uphill, finishing with 8-10 strides bounding to activate the posterior chain (hamstring/glute/calf muscles), followed by a quick recovery while running downhill. For the false flat, the focus was to run strong and then carry quick foot speed running downhill to the finish of the loop. This is a perfect course to work on terrain management and also to apply all components of good form running to an undulating course. 

As with all of the past workouts, although some campers are faster/slower than others, everyone gave the same work ethic and nobody felt excluded from the workout. Everyone cheered for one another to keep the positive energy high on the last day of camp. It was very impressive to see our campers work so hard on the last workout of camp but with so many of them racing in the next 2-3 weeks, we could tell they were focused on their racing goals and not willing to give anything short of their best on the last day of camp.

With our 12th group training camp behind us, we are relieved and sad that it is all over with. Karel and I just love putting on training camps, despite them being mentally exhausting and very time-consuming. We gain so much valuable feedback from seeing our athletes/campers in action and it helps us become better coaches. We may be a little bit biased but we feel we have the most amazing team of athletes as everyone is so supportive, kind, enthusiastic and positive.

Thanks for reading along over the past few days of my camp reflections. And that's a wrap of the 2018 All Levels Triathlon Training Camp in Greenville, SC!

We'd like to give a huge thank you to our SAG support and photographer Joey, along with our assistant coach Joe and our friend and superstar swim coach/swimmer Kristen for helping out with our camp. Also to the Swamp Rabbit Lodge for providing the most awesome lodging for our campers (in the most perfection location).

Also, a big thank you to the following companies who provided products for our athletes to use/consume at camp: 

• Amrita - bars
• Base Performance - bars and hydro
• Veronica's Health Crunch
• Mg12 - balm and roll on
• Clif Bar - blocks, Luna Rice bars, gels, hydration, recovery
• Pjuractive - anti-chaffing cream
• Klean - recovery protein, BCAA, hydration
• INFINIT - sport drink
• Carbo Rocket - half evil 333 and hydration

And to Canari for shipping our team kits in time for camp, Furman University for letting us use the pool and track, Sidewall pizza for our Friday camp pizza party, BOCO gear for helping us design the coolest backpacks ever and to Greenville, for providing us with the perfect triathlon playground for our training camps.

Trimarni All-Levels Camp - Day 3 recap

When finalizing the workouts for camp, I become fixated on the weather. Every day I am checking and rechecking the weather to make sure that our campers have the best weather possible for cycling workouts. While we can't control the weather, we can control what workouts we do and when to keep our campers happy and safe.

For day 3 of camp, due to a big chance of rain in the morning, we decided to start the day with a transition clinic - slightly modified as we were indoors so we transitioned without swimming or biking. Although this was more of circuit training than triathlon training, this transition workout was so much fun to watch and all the campers were laughing (with a high heart rate) while transitioning from each circuit station.

Karel and I set up the transition area in the Furman gym so that each athlete had to run and then perform an exercise to simulate swimming, biking or running and still transition equipment similar to a triathlon. So yes, we made our athletes wear goggles and swim caps which made things so much more fun(ny). We added in kicking on the back, kicking on the tummy, medicine ball twists, squat jumps and jumping jacks between each transition to help our athletes simulate the high heart rate that occurs when transitioning between swim to bike and bike and run. Oh and they also had to sprint from wall to wall between those exercises. Our campers broke into small groups for round one of transition practice and then we had everyone go through the transitions in relay style.

After the transition clinic, our campers had a quick break to clean up and grab a pre-ride/run meal/snack before heading out by car to Hotel Domestique (about 20-minutes a way) to start our big brick for the day.

Luckily, the weather held out for us. No rain! However, as the afternoon went on, it did get a little chilly as we rode into North Carolina/Saluda. But we will take cold over cold and wet.

Although our campers were tired to start the bike, they had a very specific bike workout to accomplish in the early part of the long ride. The first part of the ride was a steady ~4 mile climb up the watershed with big gear work. Thus the climb brought the effort to each camper. After descending back down it was time for intervals on a more "flat" road. Thus the purpose of this part of the workout was to make the effort by building the intervals. Our campers had the option of riding 2 or 3.5 hours depending on fitness ability so after we dropped off the 2-hour group at Hotel D, the 3.5 hour group headed back out on the bikes to re-climb the watershed (about 10 miles total), into North Carolina, all the way to Saluda. We turned around in the downtown of Saluda and headed back to Hotel D for run.  Everyone in both groupsdid amazing and stayed mentally tough throughout the entire workout. 

Because of the dropping temps, we gave our 3.5 hour group the option of not running off the bike but it didn't surprise us when all of our campers decided to run off the bike. Now that's some mental toughness!

As always, we have our awesome SAG support (Joey) with us for all of our rides and she made sure our campers had everything they needed (included a few yummy snacks/drinks).

After the conclusion of the brick, our campers went out to dinner in downtown Traveler's Rest to celebrate the conclusion of day 3 of camp and Karel and I got some work done before we finished off the day with a birthday celebration for Kevin (Happy 60th!!) followed by our evening discussion to highlight the accomplishments of each of our campers throughout camp (and athlete/coach Q&A). 

Here's a recap of day 3 of camp:

9am - 10am

• Transition clinic at the Furman Gym
• Individual transitions and then relays

12pm - 4pm

• Endurance ride (2 hours for group 1, 3.5 hours for group 2)
• Workout part 1: Heavy gear work up the Watershed (about 4 miles)
• Workout part 2: 2-3x's: 8 min steady, 6 min strong, 4 min very strong w/ 1 min EZ between
• Workout part 3 (for group 2): Endurance ride to Saluda and back (~90 minutes). Over 3000 elevation gain throughout the ride. 

4-4:30pm

• Brick run - 15-20 minute run at Hotel D. This run included a downhill section followed by a steady uphill, flat section and then another uphill, finishing with a short downhill. Let's just say it had a lot of climbing! 

7:30-8:30pm

• Birthday celebration for Kevin (60th birthday)
  Coach discussion/reflect on day 3 of camp

Here are some pics from day 3 of camp: 

Swimming before T1. You can check out the full transition video on our Facebook page. 

Ready for transition practice!

Transitioning from bike to run with  medicine ball twists in cycling gear. 

Ready to swim! 

Head referee Karel explaining the rules of the mixed-relay. There were a few 5-sec penalties issued but in the end, everyone was a winner. 

Campers getting ready for the start of the Sat brick. This was the only bike workout that our campers had to drive to (about 20-min away). 

Ready to head to the mountains. 

Justine - riding in style. 

All smiles for day 3 of camp. 

Pulling along the group to start round two of the bike workout to Saluda. 

An inside look into what it's like to be a camper at the Swamp Rabbit Lodge. 

Coach Karel hanging in there with only one more day of camp. 

Happy 60th Birthday Kevin!! Welcome to your new age group! 

Trimarni All-Levels Camp - Day 2 recap

The energy and enthusiasm was still high on day 2 of camp. Now that our campers had a full day of training behind them, it was time to step things up a notch with more workout specificity and applying the skills that we focused on in day two of camp.

After we let our campers sleep in and get in a good morning meal, the first workout of the day was an endurance swim. We gave them one of those sets that if you see it on your training plan, it's much more "fun" to do with others than alone with your own thoughts.

After the swim, our campers had a little break to refuel and rest before an afternoon brick workout. The bike portion of the brick allowed our campers to work on the end of ranges for cadences with heavy gear work when climbing and high cadence work when descending. While not necessary to force/apply these end of ranges on race day, it's important to train the end of ranges as an available tool in the race day physiological resource tool box.

After the bike, it was time for a run. The run off the bike is one of our favorites and a very specific run. While the early season bricks are focused on finding form while keeping the running off the bike very short (10-15 minutes), now is the time in the season when our athletes need to be able to adjust efforts while running - without chasing a pace. The brick run was very specific to half IM racing and one that we love to use for our athletes in the weeks leading up to a race to "feel" certain race efforts.

After the brick, day 2 of training camp was complete and per tradition, it was time for our pizza party + coaches Q&A. 

Here's a recap of day 2 of camp:

8:45am-9am

• Dynamic warm-up/mobility work
• Coaches discussion on swim workout

9am-10:30am

• Swim workout at Furman University (entire pool reserved for campers)
• Endurance focus swim

2-4pm

• Bike workout applying end of ranges cadence work on a 2.5 mile rolling hill stretch of road (out and back) 
• Smooth ride back to the camp house

4-5pm

• Brick run on Swamp Rabbit Trail (staying on one stretch of road so that campers can pass by one another for support)

6-7:30pm

• Pizza party (coaches treat) from Sidewall Pizza Company
  Coach discussion/reflect on day 2 of camp
• Athlete/Coach Q&A

Here are some pics from day 2 of camp: 

Swim workout for lanes 5-6 (more experienced swimmers)

Workout for lane 4


Workout for lanes 1-3

Snapping a pic/video of our campers in action

Campers in action at the Furman Pool 

Quick stop for a pic. 


Ready for intervals.


Doogie (aka Mr. Llama) loves a visit from a passing-by cyclist. 


Run workout (two options) for off the bike.

Campers finishing off their brick run. Teamwork makes the dreams work!


This way for pizza for Trimarni athletes!

All Trimarni athletes recognize the importance of fueling/hydrating while running and always run with a hydration belt/pack. 

Pizza and salad from Sidewall!

Campy loves the camp pizza party, especially when he food "accidentally" falls into his mouth.

Trimarni All-Levels Camp - Day 1 recap

It's been a camp tradition for us to make sure that our campers feel slightly exhausted and accomplished on day one of camp. Typically this means packing the day with swim, bike, run workouts from morning until late afternoon. This year at camp was no exception. Our campers started the day at 8:15am and finished just after 5:30pm with only a 90-minute break from 12:30-2pm.

For this camp, the theme of our camp is "Do things well". We are constantly addressing issues with form, skills, terrain management and execution to ensure that our campers/athletes can execute well on race day. While fitness is important, far too many athletes get overly obsessed with becoming fit through training but lack the ability to apply that fitness to race day conditions/courses. At Trimarni, we teach our athletes how to race well with their current level of fitness.

At camp, we are constantly reminding our campers/athletes that endurance triathlon racing is done on a tired body. As the race continued, mechanical/muscle, cardio, brain and body fatigue progress. Thus, we must learn to do things well in a fatigued and tired state. This means making good terrain, skills, nutrition, mental and pacing decisions when not feeling relatively fresh. 

There's always a strong emphasis of education at our camps, with constant individual skill/form feedback, but coaching only works if athletes can take "coaching" information and apply to race day. We strive to make sure that our campers/athletes can apply training to outdoor/real world settings on race day, in an unfamiliar and perhaps challenging and stressful environments.

Here's a recap of day 1 of camp:

8:15am-9am

• Athlete introduction
• Coaches discussion on camp focus
• Swimming/open water discussion

9am-10:30am

• Swim workout at Furman University (entire pool reserved for campers)
• Speed-focused and race day simulation with sighting and deck-ups

11-12:15am

• Track workout at Furman University
• Form and effort focus, with emphasis on half Ironman distance racing

2-2:30pm

• Cycling discussion by Karel
• Focus on climbing, descending, how to properly get out of the saddle to climb, u-turns, changing gears

3-5:30pm

• Skill application - practicing climbing out of the saddle, u-turns, stopping on demand
• Bike workout - ~30 min smooth ride out to the "course"
• Main set (3-4 times) on a flat + steady/steep climb 
• Smooth ride back to the camp house

7:30-8pm

• Coach discussion/reflect on day 1 of camp
• Athlete/Coach Q&A

Swim workout

Campers getting ready for the pre-set 

Track workout (immediately after the swim)

Campers warming up on the track while listening to coach Karel discuss proper running form for triathletes. 

Karel demonstrating the proper way to get out of the saddle when climbing. 

Smiling faces before workout #3

A perfect spring day in the mountains for a ride. 

Before the start of the main set

Never a shortage of farm animals where we ride. 

Riding back to the lodge 

It's time for camp!

When I was young, I loved going to summer camp. I still have so many unforgettable moments from my many camp experiences. As I grew older, my summer camp experiences were replaced by swimming......lots and lots of swimming. There were swim practices, swim meets and even swim camp (aka "hell week"). Regardless if I was attending summer camp to improve my life skills or attending swimming camp to improve my fitness, there are so many benefits of attending a camp:

• Trying new things
• Stepping out of the comfort zone
• Discovering new strengths
• Building friendships
• Discovering the value of hard work
• Learning to take healthy risks
• Setting goals
• Being responsible 
• Being attentive 
• Teamwork
• Learning
• Improving decision making skills
• Overcoming obstacles

Every time we plan a triathlon training camp, we look forward to providing our campers with all the benefits of a training camp, like improving fitness, learning new skills, breaking bad habits and making training fun, but also providing our athletes/campers with the opportunity to escape the day-to-day responsibilities, stressors, distractions and excuses so that they can put all energy, time and focus into training. By creating good habits at camp, there's a great chance that our campers/athletes will bring those habits back home to their familiar environment in order to make better, faster and bigger gains in fitness while keeping the body in good health. And above all, we want our athletes/campers to enjoy this sport for many years to come so we hope that our training camps remind our campers/athletes how much fun the sport of triathlon can be and why all that solo training is "worth it". 

Before I start my recap of camp, I'd like to send a HUGE thank you to the following companies who provide products for our campers at the 2018 Trimarni Greenville All-Levels Triathlon training camp.

• Amrita - bars
• Base Performance - bars and hydro
• Veronica's Health Crunch
• Mg12 - balm and roll on
• Clif Bar - blocks, Luna Rice bars, gels, hydration, recovery
• Pjuractive - anti-chaffing cream
• Klean - recovery protein, BCAA, hydration
• INFINIT - sport drink
• Carbo Rocket - half evil 333 and hydration

Also a big thank you to Canari for shipping our team kits in time for camp, Furman University for letting us use the pool and track, Sidewall pizza for our Friday camp pizza party, BOCO gear for helping us design the coolest backpacks ever and to Greenville, for providing us with the perfect triathlon playground for our training camps. 

It's that time again.....Trimarni training camp!

On Wednesday, we will be holding our 12th group training camp. Since our very first camp back in 2013, we have enjoyed the "camp" experience for our athletes as it is a great opportunity for our campersto checkout of normal life stressors and responsibilities, disconnect from gadgets in order to explore nature, stretch the comfort zone, learn, boost fitness and bring some added motivation and excitement to training by training in a group setting in a beautiful training location.

For the past five years, our spring all-levels triathlon training camp was always held in Clermont, Florida but with Greenville being the perfect cycling playground for triathletes, we felt strongly that our campers/athletes would benefit more from training with us in the mountains on safe, quiet roads with comfortable weather conditions.

Planning a group training camp is not easy and it requires many months of preparation, time and energy. We take great pride in providing our campers with a variety of benefits as a Trimarni camper, including (but not limited to): 

• An awesome swag bag filled with a variety of products from Trimarni sponsors and affiliates
• Trimarni logo gear (ex. bags, hat, t-shirt, water bottle, swim cap, etc.)
• Minimal driving to/from training locations (most rides start from the camp house)
• Safe and easy to access training grounds
• Reserved pool (the entire Furman pool)
• Group living situation for camper bonding (included in camp fee)
• Structured training with a specific purpose for every workout (not for the purpose of collecting miles)
• Planned routes (no cue sheets given - we are out with our campers for all rides)
• Challenging but fitness-appropriate workouts to stretch comfort zone
• SAG support vehicle for all rides (with our amazing SAG leader Joey)
• Assistant coach Joe to provide feedback/assistance
• Pizza party (vegan/gluten free options provided)
• Education - lots and lots of education
• Skill work to break bad habits and to improve skills
• Enthusiasm, motivation and support from coaches at all times
• Ego-free atmosphere - no one is too fast or too slow
• Packed schedule of training with appropriate time for fueling/recovery
• Specific recommendations/guidelines for fueling/hydration
• Typical camp size - ~15 athletes with 3 coaches (5:1 athlete to coach ratio)

To follow along with our camp activities, you can connect with us on Facebook at Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition. 

Weekend recap: Mini training camp

Whew. What a weekend of training.

A few weeks ago, our professional triathlete Ericka planned a visit to Greenville from Friday-Monday so that Karel could install electronic shifting on her bike. When we saw that the weather forecast was nearly perfect for outdoor training starting on Friday, Ericka was able to get off work one day early and head from NY to Greenville on Thursday.

Since Ericka trains indoors on her bike for all of the winter and requires layers to run outside, this was a great opportunity for her to train outside and put all that indoor training to good use before her season of racing starts in late April. We have been coaching Ericka since October and she is becoming a very durable and resilient athlete. With a great mind on her strong body, this weekend of training (aka mini training camp) was beneficial for us to see how she bounced back from workouts and mentally and physically dealt with a bit of an intentional training overload under our guidance. While Karel and I were able to join Ericka for all of her training sessions in this mini training camp, we had specific training sessions for her to do each day as this camp was all about her and her needs.

Here's the recap of the mini training camp (the bike/run routes were planned loops/routes so we didn't go by time/miles). The below run times/distances are mine as Karel and Ericka are much faster runners than me. All of our workouts can be found on Strava for maps:

Friday AM: 
4:47 bike (83.5 miles) with a planned 45-minute strong effort interval through Rocky Bottom to the Continental Divide (~10.5 miles, 1780 feet of elevation gain).
28 min run off the bike (3.68 miles, 260 elevation gain)

Friday PM: 40 minute, 2200 yard swim
Warm-up: 600
Pre set: 4 x 150's (snorkel, band, buoy)
MS: 1000 swim with paddles and fins

Saturday AM: 
1:20, 4700 yard swim
Warm-up: 400 swim, 300 as (50 kick, 25 swim with fins)
Pre set:  2 x 300's as (75 smooth, 25 strong x 3)
MS 2x's (first round with buoy, paddles, ankle strap)
200 smooth into 50 fast. Rest 10 sec
150 smooth into 50 fast. Rest 10 sec
150 smooth into 50 fast. Rest 10 sec
100 smooth into 50 fast. Rest 10 sec
100 smooth into 50 fast. Rest 10 sec
100 smooth into 50 fast. Rest 10 sec
100 smooth into 50 fast. Rest 10 sec
400 with snorkel (buoy and ankle strap)
Repeat

Saturday AM (right after swim): 
1:30 hr run (10.2 mile run with 640 elevation gain)
WU: ~40 minutes smooth, form focused with stops and stretches
Pre set: 1 x .67 mile loop (slight downhill, gradual uphill, gradual downhill)
MS: 4 x .67 mile loop (same as above) with 90 sec rest
Then: 15 minutes form focused running

Sunday AM: 
5:10 bike (89 miles with 7200 feet elevation gain)
All endurance riding with the last (almost) 2 hours as sustainable strong.

Sunday AM (right after the bike)
35 minute run (4.47 miles, 351 elevation gain)

Sunday PM (about 3 hours after the morning brick)
20 minute run

Here are some pictures from the weekend to showcase our amazing cycling playground!

Stopped at the Firestation near Flat Rock to fix Ericka's headset that came loose. Thanks to Fireman Allen for having the right metric allen wrenches for Karel to fix her bike. 

Bakery stop at Flat Rock! 

Must watch - the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games

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Since last Friday, we have been watching the Winter Paralympics every night thanks to our DVR and coverage on NBCSports. And as you may know from my previous Olympic blogs, I LOVE the sport of cross country skiing and biathlon.

There are six sports at the 2018 Winter Paralympic games - Wheelchair curling, para ice hockey, para cross country skiing, para alpine skiing, para snowboard and para biathlon.

If you have the opportunity to watch/follow online, I strongly encourage you to check out these incredible athletes in action.

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Athletes are a great source of inspiration and motivation because of their hard work ethic, dedication, ability to overcome the odds and exceptional mental and physical strength. It's unfortunate that in 2018, many athletes experience disability discrimination - especially at the Olympics! There's little coverage, discussion or promotion of the 2018 Winter Paralympic games and I can't think of a more inspiring group of athletes to showcase in the media (especially with all of the negative press that is currently going on in the media).

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Although it's incredible to see these athletes in action, we must remember that the world doesn't cater to disabled individuals as it does to able-bodied individuals. It can be very difficult and costly for a disabled individual to safely and easily find accessible ways to to travel/commute, not to mention the added cost, time and energy needed to train for and prepare for the Olympic Games. Disabled athletes may find it difficult  to access (and afford) coaching, therapy, gear, clothing, medical care and travel, compared to an able-bodied athlete.

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The beautiful thing about sport is that it doesn't discriminate. Being involved in a sport can improve health, well-being, self-esteem, confidence and quality of life, especially among those with a disability. Sport shows us that there is ability within a disability. 

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The 2018 Winter Paralympic games shows us that there are no barriers to sport participation and that no disability can keep an athlete from pursuing his/her athletic goals and dreams. We must encourage, support and promote athletes with disabilities and think of the disabled athlete as nothing more or less than the able-bodied athletes. Every athlete at the 2018 Winter Games is a human and should be treated with kindness, respect, admiration and support.

Over the past week, I have watched blind alpine skiers fly down the mountain with trust from their guide, biathlon athletes ski and shoot with missing limbs, snowboarders with a missing arm race against one another with no fear and hockey players slide across the ice with tremendous strength, grit and tenacity. And then there are the curlers....while I still don't understand the sport, it's still a sport I am watching because I support the paralympic athletes. 

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The next time you find yourself complaining about something meaningless, stressing over something small or worrying about what could have/should have been, consider the paralympic athletes who have chosen to rise up from hardship with focus, determination and a positive, can-do mindset.

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Paralympic athletes push the limits as to what is humanly possibly by the human body.
These athletes are living life to the fullest because they are not willing to settle for average.
Paralympic athletes have goals and they don't let what could have been stop them from reaching their full abilities, while having a meaningful life.
These athletes are overcoming disabilities in order to live a very productive, quality and happy life, all while inspiring others in the process. 

We must remember that these athletes are human and regardless of the physical or mental impairment, we must treat them with the same respect, notoriety, attention and enthusiasm as able-body athletes. 

Happy Registered Dietitian day!!!

HAPPY RD DAY!!
Today we celebrate the registered dietitians who are the nation's food and nutrition experts. RDN's are the most valuable and credible source of timely, scientifically-based food and nutrition information.

RD's are legally allowed to treat medical conditions. It is against the law for a nutrition expert or nutritionist to prescribe diets or supplements to diagnose or treat medical, health or clinical symptoms/conditions. In other words, if you are not a RD, it's unethical and against the law to prescribe a diet or style of eating to treat a condition. If a nutritionist/nutrition expert is not a RD, he/she is by law, not allowed to treat, prescribe, cure or diagnose health conditions. In some states, this includes providing meal plans or counseling.

As it relates to finding a nutrition "expert" to assist in your health, performance and/or body composition goals, make sure your nutrition expert has the RD (or RDN) credential behind his/her name. 

To learn a bit more about how and why I became a RD, check out this video where Joey and I answer questions about our RD journey: 

If you are in need of nutrition assistance, it can be a costly and time-consuming journey to find the right dietitian to be part of your nutrition journey. Here are my tips to help you narrow down your search so that you can find a good fit for your individual needs: 

1. Credentials - Today, anyone can claim to be a nutrition expert. Health coaches, bloggers, athletes, personal trainers, holistic practitioners, chiropractors and even most doctors are providing nutrition advice despite lacking the intensive education/schooling to provide realistic, ethical and practical advice. Look for the RD (Registered Dietitian) or RDN (or LD/N) credential behind the experts name to ensure that your nutrition expert is actually a nutrition expert.....by law. Furthermore, if you are an athlete, look for advanced credentialing such as CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sport Dietetics) and his/her specialty area (ex. ball sports, endurance sports, dance, kids, etc.) to demonstrate specialized experience, knowledge, skill and expertise in sport dietetics.
2. Experience - It goes without saying that you should be searching for an expert who has expert experience in the area that you need help with. If you are an athlete, your dietitian should be experienced in sports, not renal or pediatric clinical nutrition, as an example. A dietitian who specializes in cross fit, hockey or dance may lack the in-depth knowledge and experience to understand the needs of an endurance athlete. Just because someone is a RD, this doesn't mean that he/she can professionally counsel you. While she/he may have textbook or internet knowledge, make sure he/she is real life experience. Does your RD understand the demands of your sport and can he/she put her/himself into your shoes as it relates to the struggles/problems/concerns that you have?
   
   
3. Avoid black or white thinking - When you reach out to a nutrition expert, you should be able to ask questions as to the why's and what's for treatment. A compassionate and devoted RD should treat you like an individual, listen to your concerns, ask you questions, have time for your past history and should always give you options and different problem solving strategies as part of the counseling process. Rigid thinking means solutions are either one way or another - no in between. There are always exceptions to the rules because with nutrition, there should be no rules. Flexible thinking and a personalized approach is important in the counseling process as it relates to long-term success. Nutrition is not a quick fix. Don't expect immediate, rapid or dramatic changes with your health. If your nutrition expert promises that you will be an overnight success, be warned that something is too good to be true.
4. Philosophy - Since most nutrition professionals have some type of online presence, "follow" a dietitian to make sure you understand and believe in his/her nutrition methods and philosophy. Most of the time, the answer to questions #1,2 and 3 can be found online in a website, blog or on social media. Ask around for recommendations and referrals from athletes who have worked with your potential RD. Pay attention to contradictions in advice, extreme methods or affiliations to "sell" you a product. While many RD's partner with companies that they believe in, you should never feel a gimmick to buy supplements/products as a "cure" to your problems. Take some time to understand the set of beliefs and principles from your future RD to ensure your nutrition expert is passionate and practices what he/she preaches. Above all, a philosophy outlines the values that are important to that person/business. If you don't connect with his/her philosophy, there's a good chance that dietitian is not the right fit for you. 

RD's are trained professionals who specialize in nutrition. Sadly, there are many passionate but untrained/unqualified nutrition experts providing nutrition advice - advice that is often useless, expensive and sometimes dangerous. As with any type of professional help, it's important to find someone who is properly trained in a specific field and offers sensible, realistic, sound advice from a comprehensive educational program and not from a certificate. Lastly, don't choose your nutrition expert simply from his/her social media following/presence or a connection to a celebrity/professional athlete/coach.

With so many self-made experts, it's difficult to recognize who is trustworthy or not. Just because someone is a RD, this doesn't mean he/she is the right RD for your needs. Whenever anyone helps you with your nutrition, remind yourself that this person is helping you with your health. He or she can make you better....or worse.

Racing under pressure

After the culmination of many months (or years) of training, your race day is almost here! But now that the “fun” training is behind you, you now feel an enormous amount of pressure to perform. 

If you find yourself experiencing a flux of positive and negative emotions before an important race, these pre-race jitters are simply a mix of irrational and rational thoughts relating to your goals and expectations for race day. And when racing anticipations are at their highest, there is a subjective fear of failure that stems from by many uncertainties, doubts and worries.

For some athletes, pressure enhances motivation, enjoyment for the sport and focus. These athletes thrive off pressure and turn it into positive energy to boost performance.

But for many, the pressure to succeed is so intense that performance is negatively affected.

Although pre-race jitters are normal, they are commonly associated with disturbing symptoms like GI issues, mood swings, trouble sleeping, elevated heart rate, lack of appetite (or emotional eating) and nausea. None of which you want to experience before a race.  

Here are a few tips to help you better race under pressure: 

Gut-brain connection

Got butterflies in your stomach? The GI system is very sensitive to emotion so any extreme change in emotion or feelings can trigger abnormal symptoms in the gut. This is because the brain has a direct effect on the stomach.

Because the gut and brain send signals to one another, it is extremely important to minimize psychological factors, like stress, anxiety or worries before a race to reduce the risk for gut distress, including nausea, loose stools/diarrhea and headache.

• Train your mind and work on focusing on the present moment and not on the outcome. 
• Direct your energy to what is within your control. 
• Get off social media to avoid comparison. 
• Practice relaxation techniques (“me” time). 
• Remove yourself from energy suckers. Surround yourself with people who shower you with positive energy.
• Do not strive for perfection, aim for excellence.
• Identify your strongest skills and assets as an endurance athlete. Bring this confidence with you to race day.

Sleep and performance

Sleep is crucial for athletic performance. Poor sleep can negatively affect your performance, appetite, food choices and mood. 

• Don't be a rushed traveler. Give yourself plenty of (extra) time to get to your race environment and adjust to your new environment. 
• Travel with your favorite pillow case, sheet or blanket for a more comfortable sleeping environment at your home away from home. 
• As soon as you arrive to your race destination, start a routine that will help you perform well on race day. Set a bed time ritual like reading a book (non-electronic) or listen to soothing music with dimmed light to help with sleeping. 
• Keep napping to less than one-hour/day, minimize caffeine in the afternoon and be consistent with your sleep schedule on race week.
• If you have too much on your mind before bed, write down your thoughts on a piece of paper to give your brain a well-needed, 8-hour thinking break.

Eat smart

Despite meticulous food planning and hand-washing, an upset stomach (or worse) is common on race week - especially when you are racing under pressure. Unfamiliar foods, as well as unknown food handling/cooking, can have unwanted consequences on your gut. Additionally, it’s important to recognize what foods digest the easiest in your gut in the 48 hours before the race. 

• If eating out, communicate to your server about special dietary requests.  If possible, shop local (or bring your own food) and prepare your own meals.
• Reduce the risk of traveling constipation/bloating by drinking plenty of water, consuming your normal diet (within reason) and moving your body as much as possible. Warm water, tea or coffee can simulate the bowels but don't overdo it on caffeine. 
• Taper your “healthy” high-fiber diet on the 48 hours before race day. Reduce the quantity of foods that create frequent bowel movements (ex. fiber), minimize foods that may irritate your gut on race day (ex. dairy, fructose, sweeteners like xylitol and sorbitol, artificial flavorings) and control portions of foods that require a lengthy digestion (high fat).
• Resist buying and eating food on a whim. Identify the foods that have worked well in your diet around your “key” workouts/races and continue to enjoy those foods on race week.
• Research the cuisine/grocery options at your final destination and plan in advance for your grocery list as well as any restaurants that will cater to your dietary pre-race needs. Enjoy an unfamiliar new meal/food after your race. 
• Stay well-hydrated to help with dehydration and the digestion of food. 

Early season racing mindset

In just a few weeks, we will be heading down south to Haines City for our first triathlon of 2018.

It's been seven looooong months since we raced in a triathlon and I can't help but think about that early season racing mindset. I forgot what it feels like to push through the low moments, to make the mind work with the body, to be very uncomfortable, to embrace the unknown and to put a lot of mental energy into everything that is needed to have a great swimbikerun in a competitive setting.

Racing is a skill. It requires practice and time to perfect.

The best part of an early season race is to get back into the racing environment, dust off the rust and to test yourself.......without pressure to be at your best. Because racing is something that you get better at the more you do it, early season races provide a great opportunity to figure out what works best for you without any pressure on the outcome/final results.

As an athlete, it's easy to feel pressure to perform at every race or to achieve a goal time/place, but it's much better to make mistakes, welcome the unknown and to learn about yourself in a race setting in an early season race so that come later on in the season, when you have more accumulated experience and fitness, you can really showcase your abilities.

An early season race is great for the following: 

• Gain experience/feedback/data for yourself and for your coach. 
• Try something that you may not be comfortable with in a more important race. 
• Practice your pre-race rituals and warm-up strategies.
• Work on your mental skills, especially as it relates to pre-race anxiety, nerves and stress. 
• Practice your race week and race day nutrition and hydration (if it doesn't go well, reach out to a Board Certified Sport RD for help). 
• Try out clothing and gear to see what works (or doesn't work) for you. 
• Remind yourself what it takes to suffer/dig deep/overcome low moments. 
• Remind yourself how much you love racing (and the training that is needed to feel prepared come race day). 
• Play with different efforts and racing/pacing strategies. 
• Celebrate being outside, especially if you have been training indoors all winter.  
• Gain motivation for future workouts/races.
• Learn lots about yourself in a race setting. 

Because nothing will simulate a race environment like being in the race environment, remove the stress to be at your best at your early season race. Rather than going into an early season race with high or low expectations, remove immense pressures to be fast and instead, arrive to your race with the freedom to race without expectations.

The first race of the season is generally a test of your current fitness without any should have, would have, could have thoughts. Let the race give you feedback about your current strengths and limiters as it's absolutely not a predictor how the rest of the season will go or a test of your athletic worthiness. 

Sport Nutrition Product Review - Hot Shot

Flex Innovation Group, LLC
Boston, MA
teamhotshot.com 

About the Company from the website:Invented by a nobel-prize winning neuroscientist/endurance athlete and his friend, a neurobiology profession at Harvard.Dr. Rod MacKinnon and his friend, Dr. Bruce Bean, were deep sea kayaking in the winter when they were both seized with life-threatening muscle cramps. They experienced such debilitating pain that neither could steady their kayaks. Over the next five years, Rod and Bruce worked to unravel the mystery and discover this surprising truth: when it comes to preventing muscle cramps, it’s not about treating the muscle, it’s about treating the nerve.

Certifications/Testing:
Certified Organic by QAI
NSF Certified for Sport

Products:
HotShot

Label Claims:
Sports Shot with a Kick

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1.7 fl oz (50 ml)
Calories: 30
Total Carb: 7 g
Sugars: 6 g
Sodium: 40 mg

Ingredients:
Filtered water, organic cane sugar, organic lime juice, organic gum arabic, sea salt, pectin, organic stevia extract, natural flavor, organic cassia oil, organic ginger extract, organic capsaicin extract.

How It Works: 

1. Drinking HOTSHOT stimulates sensory neurons in the mouth, esophagus, and stomach.
2. Stimulated neurons send impulses to the spinal cord.
3. These impulses overpower and inhibit repetitive signals coming to and from the cramped muscle. 
4. This stops repetitive signals and prevents and/or treats the cramp.

Our notes:

• Spicy
• Use caution with GERD
• Appropriate for athletes prone to cramping

It's National Nutrition Month!

Once a year, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the organization by which I am credentialed and qualified to provide nutrition advice) dedicates the month of March to a themed campaign that brings attention to "the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits."

For 2018, the theme is "Go Further with Food."

I really love the theme this year because it can mean so many different things for everyone. To my, the theme means giving a purpose (and appreciation) to everything that I put into my body. In other words, I choose to make every bite count.

Prepping food in advance, planning ahead, cutting back on food waste, managing food resources appropriately, protecting the environment and supporting local farmers are some of the many ways that you "Go Further with Food."

Here are a few suggestions from Eatright.org: 

1. Include a variety of healthful foods from all of the food groups on a regular basis.
2. Consider the foods you have on hand before buying more at the store.
3. Buy only the amount that can be eaten or frozen within a few days and plan ways to use leftovers later in the week.
4. Be mindful of portion sizes. Eat and drink the amount that’s right for you, as MyPlate encourages us to do.
5. Continue to use good food safety practices.
6. Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.
7. Realize the benefits of healthy eating by consulting with a registered dietitian nutritionist. RDNs can provide sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice to meet your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs.

• For more educational handouts and materials, click HERE.
  
• Here's a great article on the importance of reducing food waste: Click HERE.
  
• Here's a great read on reasons to support local farms: Click HERE

How will you Go Further With Food this month? 

Low(er) volume, high intensity training for endurance triathlon events

The definition of "high" or "low" volume training can vary from athlete to athlete. While I consider our training volume to be low compared to what some athletes do when training for an endurance triathlon event, it may also be seen as "high" volume compared to what other athletes do for long workouts. Since much of our weekly volume occurs from frequent training sessions (instead of two "long" workouts each week), I'd say that we have the right mix of intensity, frequency and volume to encourage training adaptations without risking injury or burnout. Certainly, this was years in the making with lots of trial and error and many athlete case studies to learn from.

Last year I was interviewed for a Triathlete magazine article on this topic of high/low volume training. I really enjoyed providing my insights on this topic for I feel many endurance triathletes adhere to haphazard training which includes high volume workouts. weekend after weekend. often in a sleep-deprived, poorly nourished state, that lack specificity and structure. In other words, the investment into training "long" does not pay off on race day as the athlete ends up burnt-out, injured or sick.  On the flip side, many athletes procrastinate with training and then suddenly ramp up training volume, which over-stresses the body and doesn't allow adequate time for physiological adaptations.

While there may be a right way to train for an endurance events and a wrong way to train, what's right or wrong for you is specific to you and only you. In today's social media, always connected world, it's easy to compare your training to someone else, feeling as if you are never doing "enough".  I believe that it takes time to "build" an endurance triathlete and it can't be done in one or two seasons. Just because you sign up for a half or full distance Ironman, this doesn't mean that the "right" type of training for you is loads of high volume workouts. Typically, we feel it takes a good 2-3 consistent-training years to gradually build a solid foundation of endurance training stress to be able to feel fully prepared to "race" in a half or full Ironman distance triathlete. And even if you don't plan to "race" a long distance triathlon event, this doesn't mean that you should skip steps or rush the process of preparing your body to handle long training sessions.

"In a time when likes and comments on social media give us instant validation of a workout well done, it’s easy to become wrapped up in the mindset that when it comes to training volume, bigger is better. After all, if your buddy is racking up the kudos for his weekly 20-mile runs and 75-mile rides while your Tuesday night three-miler goes unloved, it’s only natural to want to ramp up the mileage. But with heavy training comes the obvious risk of injury or burnout. And, often, those extra miles are just not worth it—or necessary."

To read more on this topic, you can check out the entire interview/article and my sample workouts below.....

Execute low volume-high intensity training

20 tips to get out of your own way

Have you ever said to yourself "I know what I should be doing but I can't seem to do it!"

Life is busy, stressful and exhausting so it's no surprise that excuses and barriers keep you from doing what you know you should be doing. But what if your life didn't have to be this way?

If you are tired of getting into your own way, here are my tips to lift yourself up, gain control over your mind, work through fears and doubts, break down barriers and move closer to your goals.  

1. Celebrate small accomplishments. 
2. Don't aim for perfectionism.
3. Silence the negative self-talk. 
4. Stop procrastinating. Look for patterns when you push aside what is uncomfortable or difficult to accomplish. 
5. Address self-sabotaging, habitual behavior. 
6. Avoid over-committing yourself. 
7. Learn to say no. 
8. You are not your thoughts. 
9. Focus on the present moment. 
10. Push aside thoughts that are non-productive or make you feel bad. 
11. Call out your self-defeating thoughts, like distractions, stress, fear, stubbornness, anxiety, self-consciousness, that are not serving you well. 
12. Take responsibility for your bad habits and choices. 
13. Do everything with great self-confidence, pride and appreciation. 
14. Stop the rational lies that make it easy to stray from your path when you have an excuse for everything. 
15. Address the daily decisions that you make and why you make them.
16. Don't give into instant-gratification. 
17. Be your biggest fan. You are good enough. 
18. Don't be so critical/hard on yourself. 
19. Catch yourself in negative thinking. Reframe situations. 
20. Focus your thoughts and actions on what really matters the most to you. 

The windy long ride

My week of coaching, nutrition consults, writing articles and training caught up to me and on Friday, I was a bit more tired than usual. I adjusted my Friday workouts from 3 (swim, bike/run and strength) down to one so that the only thing I did was an EZ 60-minute spin on the trainer in the morning to loosen out my legs. Knowing that Saturday was another long workout for us (4.5 hour ride + run off the bike and then a PM run) but the predicted weather was cold in the morning, Karel and I decided to swim first and then ride in the late morning - pretty much we aborted our scheduled training for plan B. After 12 years of endurance triathlon training, I've learned not to get too fixated to what's on the schedule as sometimes plans need to change. I've also come to appreciate a change in weekend workouts as this prevents me from feeling burnt-out from putting my body through the same workouts weekend after weekend. 

Around 9am (when the Furman pool opened), we started our swim. While the swim was a little intense (MS was 15 x 100's, total 3300 yards), I left the pool feeling excited to ride. After another snack, it was time to head out for our ride around 11:30am.

Sadly, we didn't consider the wind that came through after the cold left us in the late morning/afternoon. Although the temperature was nice for an outdoor ride, the wind was not-so-nice. For the first 2:20 hours of ride, navigating up and down lots of climbs as we headed into North Carolina to Flat Rock Village Bakery, we battled some intense head winds. It was mentally and physically exhausting. There was little talking between me and Karel throughout this ride as it was one of those workouts where you try to quiet all the negative thoughts in your mind and just embrace the tough conditions. As if our terrain is not hard enough, I was finding myself frustrated by the wind, the bumps on the road and Karel's pace. So many times I just wanted to give up but I kept making deals with myself to just go a little further and a little further. As someone who doesn't enjoy riding in the wind, this was a great opportunity for me to embrace my fears and work on my weakness.

Once we arrived to the bakery for our quick stop, I was relieved that we would get some tailwind for the ride home. After a few bites of our bakery treats (pecan walnut bar for me and chocolate coconut macaroon for Karel), it was time to head back for our ride home.

 

So much for wishful thinking of tailwind. While we were getting a little push, the wind was to the side and it was fierce. Descending quickly down climbs, especially ones where the road twist and turns, was uncomfortable for me but I stayed calm and embraced our tough training conditions. Making sure to stay fueled/hydrated with my sport drink was critical to keep my brain sharp to better manage the conditions and our terrain, along with supplying carbs to my working muscles and to prevent a drop in blood sugar.

As the ride continued, I found myself more mentally than physically exhausted from our ride. The gusts of wind at my side had me riding very cautious. Even though our roads are fairly quiet from cars, I was still hesitant to take more risks in the wind as I wanted to get home in one piece. Normally, I love this route (I suggested this route to Karel before we left our house for our ride) but on Saturday, not so much. But there's always something to learn from training to apply to race day and my lesson learned was to stay in the moment and self-manage -  mentally and physically. This ride also gave me a lot of opportunities to practice my bike handling skills.

By the time that we got a few miles away from home, I was relieved to have this ride (almost) behind me. After returning home more exhausted than normal, we decided because of the windy ride and morning swim that we would not run off the bike and just call it a day - which was fine by me. It was nearing 4:30pm and I was ready to eat, cuddle with Campy, answer a few emails and rest my tired body. Ten hours of sleep did the trick and on Sunday morning, I felt much more rested for my morning workouts (1:40 hr trainer ride with high cadence intervals followed by a 45 minute treadmill run).

Many times, we train in a controlled, comfortable environment which brings confidence for race day but rarely is race day comfortable and controlled. While we should never put our health at jeopardy, sometimes it's ok to step outside of the comfort zone and embrace what you are not good at. For me, it's the wind. I'd like to think/hope that one day I will master riding in the wind and get excited for windy conditions on race day (and in training) but for now, I will continue to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and (try to) make friends with the wind. 

Attempting to reach your race weight - part II

A change in your body composition to ensure a performance improvement (race weight) should be the outcome of a well planned and executed fueling and training plan, alongside a healthy and balanced, non-restrictive daily diet. Just because you lose weight or achieve a certain body fat percentage, this doesn't mean that you are physically, mentally, emotionally and nutritionally prepared to perform well on race day. You may "look" a certain way but this doesn't mean you will preform a certain way.

When a healthy change in body composition is desired, it should not involve restriction, elimination and obsessive strategies. While some sports may reward a "leaner" build, this doesn't mean that you can't be successful in your sport with a little more cushion with your strong bones. As it relates to the sport of endurance triathlon, you are not penalized if you are carrying around a little more body fat on your frame for a strong body can better tolerate training stress versus a weak and fragile body that may be lighter. Furthermore, if you desire weight loss for a performance boost, you should not be unsupervised in this process as it can lead to performance and health declines. You should reach out to a team of professionals to help you safely lose weight without sabotaging your health. Most athletes do not take the "hard work" approach as they want a quick, inexpensive and easy fix to assist in weight loss.

When an athlete steps on the scale (or looks in the mirror) and responds with "I'm too fat/heavy" or "I don't look like an athlete" or "I will never perform well at this weight", this thinking may trigger the need to make an instant and drastic change in the diet and/or pushing harder or going longer than the workout calls for. When a vulnerable athlete feels uncomfortable in his/her skin or feels pressure to lose weight, the next step is not a patient and long-term approach. Typically, athletes will go the route of calorie restriction, carbohydrate elimination and improper fueling and hydrating strategies to try to gain control over eating and body composition - none of the former strategies assist in weight loss OR performance gains but instead, the body becomes weak and you lack the energy and motivation to stay consistent with training.

Let's consider two athlete scenarios as it relates to attempting to reach race weight:

Athlete A is motivated to lose weight in order to improve athletic performance for an upcoming endurance event. This athlete is not aware of how much energy is needed to support the metabolic demands of training and despite consuming around 1500-2000 calories a day, he/she is not losing weight and always feels as if he/she is "too big" for the sport.  This athlete only uses the scale to asses weight loss and each time she/he doesn't see the scale change, he/she makes more and more food restrictions during the day and around/during workouts in order to see a drop in body weight on the scale. Eventually, the athlete does lose weight through his/her tactics. But seeing that a number of key hormones play an important role in the regulation of body composition and energy production, the glands in the endocrine system (ex. adrenal, hypothalamus, ovaries, pancreas, parathyroid, pineal, pituitary, testes, thymus, thyroid) are slowly being compromised - unbeknownst to the athlete. Athlete A doesn't realize that his/her diligent dietary adherence to a restrictive diet and poor fueling/hydration strategies alongside strict dedication to training are actually destroying his/her health.  While this athlete may have arrived to race day at his/her "race weight", this athlete is in poor metabolic health and race day performance is likely to be compromised. There's also a good chance that this athlete will need to spend the next few months or year, trying to fix his/her overtaxed, overloaded and damaged endocrine system (and potentially poor bone health). It's worth mentioning that even for athletes who are not seeking weight loss but do not understand the great energy demands that are needed to support endurance or high intensity training, many endurance athletes may suffer from health issues during training as a result of unintentionally damaging hormonal or metabolic health by not "eating enough" or timing food appropriately with training, to support training stress.
Athlete B follows his/her training plan by keeping the easy sessions easy and hard sessions hard. She/he works with a sport dietitian to better understand how to time nutrition with training, to understand individual energy and nutrient needs (to eat "enough"), he/she always eats before/after workouts and learns how to use sport nutrition properly to support long and intense training sessions and to maximize recovery. This athlete can train consistently throughout the entire season and puts the focus on performance over weight. Although the athlete would like to lean-up or lose weight, she/he is not making it a focus. Ironically, athlete B notices a change in body composition over an extended period of time through sustainable healthy eating habits that support training demands (especially as the volume and intensity of training increase in the hot summer months). This athlete increases lean mass while reducing overall body fat without intentionally trying and has improved strength to create a more resilient and durable body to withstand training. She/he also has great training sessions to build confidence for race day and also has a great relationship with food and the body. There is little risk for injury or sickness because the athlete is properly supporting training stress with proper eating and fueling. This athlete arrives to race day in great health, with a strong body and feels prepared to perform and just like with training, can bounce back relatively quickly from the race to get back into structured training.

THE BIG TAKE AWAY
Intense/high volume training + extreme caloric/carb restriction places athletes at risk for losing lean tissue, bone mass, depleted energy stores and a possible gain in body fat. So why would any athlete want to compromise health with this approach? Isn't the point of training to become a better, stronger and faster athlete? Your race weight should not come at a cost of damaging your health and performance. If you are training 10+ hours a week and struggle to see a change in favorable body composition, there's a good chance that you are not eating enough to support your training demands and/or not using sport nutrition products properly and/or improperly timing food with workouts to delay adaptions to support lean muscle mass and strength gains.

If you are attempting to reach your race weight through extreme measures, you may placing yourself at risk for illness, injury, poor recovery, decreased performance and a host of hormonal, bone, cardiovascular and metabolic health issues. ....All of which will negatively affect training and can compromise overall well-being.

For you to perform at your best AND to adapt to training, while still functioning well in life, focus on lifestyle strategies to achieve/maintain a healthy weight and let your race weight take care of itself. With optimal fueling and hydration strategies, a healthy and well balanced diet, consistent quality training, good sleep, stress management, a healthy relationship with the body and food and great recovery habits, you will not only reach athletic excellence but your great daily habits will continue to bring you long-term health benefits with a body that you can be proud to call your own. 

For more on this topic of when to reach your body composition goals, check out a past Ironman article that I wrote on this topic.