Endurance sport fueling -- Know your options

When you begin to take on races longer than 5k’s and train hard for 1.5+ hrs at a stretch, you will find that your performance is greatly boosted by taking in calories during your race/workout vs. water alone. This is true because when you work your muscles hard enough to require a fairly high proportion of glucose as fuel (vs. fat, which is a “slower” fuel), your stores run low – there is only so much glucose stored within each of your muscle cells, and after that they rely on glucose from your liver (which is also needed to power your brain) or protein breakdown to supply the quick energy they need. A little shot of sugar can bring back your motivation, energy level and even your ability to think better!

Endurance athletes are not all the same when it comes to fueling needs or their ability to use different types of fuels without suffering from GI upset. In general GI upset is more noticeable either for short, very intense efforts when digestion is very difficult or in very long events such as an Ironman where any number of things can go wrong with your fueling, hydration and electrolyte supplementation over the course of the day. Digestion and absorption rates are key. How quickly will the food leave your stomach? Is it absorbed effectively, or does it get fermented by your gut bacteria, resulting in gas? Macronutrient composition, the amount of water you drink along with the food (concentration), and how your gut works will all influence how well a particular fuel form or recipe will agree with you.

Ok, so what are the options, and what are they good for? We’ll start with products with the highest water content and move to lowest.

• Sports drinks. The ratio of carb grams to water milliliters for optimal absorption is thought to be 4:100 (4%) – Skratch Labs and Osmo Hydration products are made to be used in this way. This ratio comes out to 112.5 calories in a standard 24 oz bike bottle. In hot conditions it can be fairly easy to consume 24 or more ounces of fluid in an hour on a bike, allowing an athlete to fuel exclusively by this method if he/she requires only about 100 calories per hour. Otherwise a more concentrated solution (or the addition of solid food as Skratch recommends) will be required. Most bottled sports drinks, including Ironman Perform, are 6-8%, and of course powdered sports drink mix can be made to any concentration desired. Some sports drinks (Hammer Nutrition makes two of these) contain a small amount of protein – these are intended to be used for sessions lasting more than 2.5 hrs when your muscles may start to use amino acids as fuel in addition to glucose.
• Baby food in pouches. These little fruit puree pouches, which have a similar shape to gel packs, are pretty popular amongst endurance athletes! They contain only about 60 calories per pouch because of their water content, so plan on stuffing a fair number of them into your jersey pocket for a 2-3 hour event. You will want to wash them down with a bit of water. Be mindful of the macronutrient content of the one you choose – the more fat/protein/fiber in there, the longer it will sit in your stomach, so plan to minimize these. Also, baby food does not typically have sodium, so you will need to add this from another source (ie, salt tabs or sports drink) if it’s hot out and you’re sweating.
• Energy gels. Gels typically come 100 calories of easy-to-absorb carbs to a pack in a variety of flavors for fruit-lovers as well as fruit-haters. Peanut butter gels have popped up recently that taste just like PB from the jar. There are also gels made with chia seeds for a jammy texture (Huma), with a fig paste base (Reload), or just honey (Honey Stinger Classic). There’s pretty much something for everyone, and unlike sports drinks and baby food, it’s easy to find a gel with caffeine in it if you find that to be helpful while racing (I do!). Gels are concentrated, so they require water – not just to wash the stickiness out of your mouth or off your hand, but to help your gut absorb the carbs too. Don’t skimp! If you’re running, it’s best to finish consuming a gel just before you arrive at an aid station so you can toss the empty packet and grab some water to wash it down as you jog through. As an aid station volunteer I have seen folks wash a gel down with sports drink – I don’t recommend this! The gel is enough calories for one dose, and should be chased with plain water to avoid GI upset down the road.
• Energy chews. If you like gummy bears, energy chews are awesome. They are not sticky like gels, come in a variety of fruity flavors, and also can be found with and without caffeine for an extra boost. They can be a bit difficult to handle while riding (not all packaging is convenient to use), and when you’re working very hard, chewing can be difficult. But it’s also possible to stick one in your cheek like a chipmunk, and let it slowly dissolve. Just make sure you know how many chews you need to consume to reach 100 calories – it may be more than you think – and don’t forget to continue to drink water as you eat them.
• Regular food. If you’re riding your bike over long distances at low to moderate intensity, there’s no reason not to use real food as a fuel. Because you are staying aerobic and are not bouncing up and down like a runner, your gut can tolerate something besides liquids/gels, and chewing won’t interfere with your breathing. The gurus of what to eat on the bike are the Skratch Labs chefs, Biju Thomas and Allen Lim. I highly recommend their two cookbooks for great ideas for bike-friendly foods and how to wrap them for easy eating. These vary from rice balls to grits cakes to hand pies to waffles. If it’s got lotsa carbs and just a little fat, protein and fiber, it’s good on the bike! Remember to hydrate effectively when fueling with regular food. If you use a sports drink for this instead of plain water, remember to combine the calories from the drink and the food to find the total calories you can tolerate per hour at your desired level of intensity.

Consider the intensity of the event you are planning, and then pick a few options that might work for you. Try them out in training under conditions similar to your race (temperature, effort level, frequency of fueling/hydrating) and see how you feel both during and after the session. If you experience tiredness/sleepiness, you likely need more calories. If you feel full, you are either over-feeding or using a fuel with too much protein, fat or fiber, causing it to sit in your stomach for too long. If you get dehydrated or need to pee a lot, adjust your hydration plan. 

Please add a comment about your favorite fuel(s) or a time when your choice of fueling didn't work for you like you expected!

Thrive during the long tri season ahead – Sustainability, consistency, periodization

Here in Austin the triathlon race season stretches from early April to late October with many opportunities to race at sprint to Ironman distances in between. That's a long season of training and racing! How does a person with a family, a job, a life, manage to set PRs and not burn out? Sustainability, consistency, and periodization.

Sustainability – Be realistic about how much time you have to spend not just on actual workouts and races, but on the preparation, the commuting, the showering, the refueling, the visiting with teammates, the shopping online and in the real world for gear, interacting with your coach, etc. Then figure out how to use this time as effectively as possible by organizing your gear, finding ways to eliminate commute time, or doing more interval training to pack more punch into less time.

At one time I could ride directly from my home to routes on safe roads in nearly any direction. I kept my cycling gear in a heap in the garage. Now I have to drive to the start of most of my outdoor rides, so I purchased a 5 gallon bucket at Home Depot, and all my ride gear lives in it. When I take my gloves, head band and vest out of the wash, they go right back in the bucket with my shoes, helmet, chain lube, Road ID, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc. All I have to do is get dressed, pump up my tires, grab my fuel, phone and water bottles and pack my bike and bucket into the car.

If you’re a parent, you may need to train at odd hours (early mornings, late at night) to avoid disrupting your kids’ schedule. Just make sure that you are still able to get enough sleep, or your routine will not be sustainable. Making sure your workouts are focused and short will help – a bike trainer can be a life-saver in these cases since it keeps you close to home and allows you to get more quality work done in a short period of time using interval workouts. Keeping your sights set on shorter distance events that require much less training time is also helpful.

Consistency/habituation – It has been said that what defines you is not what you do every once in a while, but what you do every day (or frequently). You will not become a better swimmer or runner or cyclist if you only practice that discipline once a week or less! And you will not have a stronger core if you only work on it only now and then. 

As you reflect back on last season or forward to the one ahead, decide what part of your training you wish to change. What do you want to do better? Set your goals, and then work steadily toward them. You will become a better swimmer if you find out how to fix a stroke flaw or two and then practice swimming correctly 3-4 times a week, even if just for 20 minutes after finishing another workout at your gym. You will get stronger glutes for running and climbing on your bike if you learn several ways to strengthen them, and then work on these 3-4 times a week with a bit of rest in between when you feel you need it. You will become a better runner if you increase your mileage from 6-10 mi/week spread over 2 runs to 15 or 20 mi/week spread over 3-4 runs, assuming proper form and recovery. I like to use a check-list in Excel that has all the items I want to do every day like roll-out and stretching, as well as those I want to do frequently like core work, squats, lunges, etc. Every night I check in with this list and do what I can to check things off for that day. I also plan ahead for the next day before I head off to bed to make sure I know how I will structure my day to get those things done.

Knowing if you prefer to train with a group or on your own either with or without a coach can also help with consistency. If you attempt to train on your own but really prefer to train with a group, you may find your ability to get work done every day to be difficult, even with a coach to guide and motivate you. Your preference may be different for each sport. For instance, you may love to run alone but prefer to hit the road on your bike with a group to feel more safe. Try out both environments, and be realistic about which suits you best.

Periodization -- Because we all don’t have the time or energy to train everything well all the time, we have to pick and choose what to emphasize at different points in the season. You may decide that your pre-season will include much more strength training than your regular session. You may pick one or two core strength moves from your pre-season routine of 7 or 8 that you want to continue to do throughout the season without having to spend a lot of time on it. If you have an issue with open water swimming, you may want to focus heavily on that one month, keeping running and cycling at maintenance level, and then switch focus for the next month. You might not swim, bike or run at all for a while during the off-season to make room for other pursuits like hiking, cross-country skiing, rock-climbing, yoga, etc to keep your body and mind fresh. Decide how you will approach your build-up to your goal events, and choose what to emphasize at different points in your season so that you can build and maintain strength, speed and endurance in all three sports as needed.

So this season as you think about what events you want to do, be realistic about how much time you can spend on your training on a consistent basis while still getting enough sleep and time for the rest of your life, adjust your training schedule to optimize your consistency and motivation, and then figure out how shift your emphasis on the swim/bike/run/strength elements of triathlon throughout the season to keep your training moving you forward and also fitting into the rest of your life.

If you need help balancing your training and figuring out how to best use your training time, contact me for a consultation: casey at gothedistancecoaching.com.

Dream a silly dream...

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men." - Goethe

Are you a dreamer? When was the last time you fixed your heart on something just out of reach, but attainable with some effort on your part? I believe these dreams, be they frivolous, athletic, or world-changing are what keeps us going, make the world a better place, and lead to all kinds of fun posts on Facebook. OK, not all of us can be Elon Musk -- the guy has made a career of bringing his boyhood dreams about space and electric cars to life after getting rich creating Paypal. But we can can all have dreams.

Do you have a dream you're working toward right now? No? Well, if you need help getting your juices flowing, read on, and I'll tell you about two dreamers I know who aimed high and achieved their aims in the same weekend (Oct 26-27, 2013).

Dreamer #1 -- Go farther than you've ever gone before

When I first met Pramod, he had a tough time finishing a length of the pool. We worked on his swimming for a few months, and he successfully completed a 750m swim at the TriRock triathlon. He surprised me by letting me in on his secret dream shortly after that event - he wanted to complete a 70.3 triathlon in seven weeks' time. I had my doubts about his ability to complete any of the three legs of this event within the cut-off times since his swimming was not yet strong, he had only a cruiser bike, and he didn't really run. I expressed my concerns, and he listened politely, but clearly had already made up his mind. He told me he wanted to meet every week for a swim lesson, and every time we met he told me about how far he had swum at Barton Springs that weekend, and how many miles he had added to his long bike ride. The distances got longer and longer every week. We talked about fueling and logistics. He borrowed a wetsuit. He bought a road bike and grew accustomed to using it. He rode around and around and around the 3 mile loop at the Veloway, somehow without getting dizzy, until he could do over 50 miles. He ran some, and walked a lot. He finished a 2000m swim at Barton Springs, and then did a 1.5 miler at Deep Eddy by accident. He didn't let my skepticism about his prospects stop him at all. He just quietly did the work, week by week. 

And then race day came. He looked confident as he hugged his wife and lined up with the rest of his
start wave. He was smiling as he ran out of the water after a remarkable 1 hr swim. He didn't freak out when his bike seat was too low and his knees started bothering him. He didn't quit when he made it out onto the run course with only 3 hours to go or when he was so close to missing the cut-off on each of the three loops of the run. He did what he had to do, and he crossed the finish line before the course closed. Congratulations, Pramod! You did it!

Dreamer #2 -- Eat more donuts than any human being should

Jimmy is the kind of personal trainer who is always curious about things and never tires of seeing how he can push his body in new ways. When he heard about the Tour de Donut Austin, a hilly 25 mile bike ride spanning 3 donut shops with time bonuses for each donut consumed, he was all in. Never mind that he didn't have a bike or a helmet. He borrowed a road bike and pedaled it in running shoes, and borrowed a helmet at the start line. He figured out how to shift the front and rear derailleurs during the first couple miles of the race, and rode as fast as he could to Krispy Kreme so he could begin to live out his dream of shattering the men's record of 20 donuts eaten. He kept his eye on John, the champion from the last two years, and figured out that smashing 3 donuts down into a donut sandwich was quick and effective. 11 glazed at Krispy Kreme, 8 miles to Shipleys to eat a bunch more, and then back to Dunkin Donuts for some jelly-filled and cake donuts before climbing a 15% incline hill to the finish. No clip-in shoes to help him get up that hill? No problem. He just picked up the bike and ran! And then collected the prize for setting a new record for most donuts eaten -- 23!

So what's your dream? To set a new personal best in a favorite event? Complete an Ironman or an adventure race? To lose 10 pounds and/or regain fitness lost after illness or injury? Set a concrete, time-sensitive goal that is a stretch but not totally out of reach, tell your friends about it so they can hold you accountable (and lend you a bike or a wetsuit), and then get out there and do what it takes to achieve it. Even if it sounds a little kooky!

A call to dig deeper

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2, NKJV

That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.

Friedrich Nietzsche

A call to dig deeper

Each workout comes with a choice – how much blood, sweat and tears am I willing to commit today? Some days we just don’t have it. Some times those days pile up into weeks of half-hearted workouts. But when we dig deep to really give it our all in a key interval workout or really go to failure and not just a little tiredness during a strength set or plank hold in the gym, there is a both a fitness and psychological gain to be had that we can call upon during a race that we really care about. Being willing to suffer through wind, rain, and more effort than we would normally want to give allows us to push through adverse conditions on race day.

As the 2013 triathlon season winds down and key races are happening, I am witnessing and hearing about athletes who exemplify what our sport (and really any sport) is about – digging deep to push through momentary pain and suffering to achieve a goal that lasts.

Sara dreamed about doing an Ironman, and did everything she could for 1.5 years to be ready. On race day, it was windy on the lake, and she finished the swim in 1 hr 43 min with a belly that was visibly distended from air and water taken in during the swim. She then rode a very hilly bike course for 112 miles, hillier and longer than she had ever ridden before for eight hours. She was more physically miserable during that ride than she had ever been before, but she didn’t stop because she wanted to finish that Ironman so badly. And she did.

John, a great local duathlete, traveled to Switzerland to compete in the Age-Group Long-Course Duathlon World Championships for Team USA. John wrote the following about his experience at that race: “Powerman, ‘World's Toughest Duathlon’ lived up to its name. I had a few adventures during the day....stung by a bee on my lip during the second loop on the bike; breaking a spoke with 32 miles left to ride (which made those 32 miles hairy since I didn't know if the wheel would hold up on the descents or during braking in the corners); missing a water hand up when I was out of fluids (the guy pulled the bottle back!).” Any one of these challenges might have ended a typical workout early. He had to dig deep to finish!

People in our midst are digging deep in other ways. Some are enduring the loss of a wife, a husband, a parent to sudden and unexpected death, and carry on for the sake of children day by day into a new and undesired reality. Others spend months in chemo treatments, surgeries and the physical impairments that result, struggling to return to some semblance of what they once were. And don’t forget the parents caring for kids with special needs who wonder who will care for these children when they no longer can.

Whether we endure by choice in sport or by necessity in life, we all look for a source of strength to help us continue when the going gets very tough, and the road feels especially long. We call upon the example of others to help us push through (Heb. 12:1-2). We hold onto the belief that how we handle the situation will somehow make us stronger as human beings, as spiritual beings, as parents, as pastors and teachers, as coaches, as athletes. We persevere in the face of adversity because we believe that continuing toward our goal is more important than what we feel in the moment. The desire to just give up and go home is defeated.

This is the call to true greatness in life, in sport. Perseverance in the face of adversity. Embrace it every day, every workout, and see where it takes you in 2014.

Getting my butt and my spiritual life in gear

My right glute doesn’t fire. I care about this because I’m a triathlete, and running has never been my forte. The glutes (buns, cheeks, rear end) are supposed to be my major running muscles, my “prime movers”, but mine don’t really do much back there. This means my quads, hamstrings, and calves do most of the work to move me down the road, but they’re not really meant for this job. When I run fast or a lot, they tend to give out, and I end up injured. I’m fed up with being injured, so this fall I’ve committed to getting my butt in gear, literally.

At the same time, I’m acutely aware that my spiritual life is in a holding pattern. It’s rare that I crack open my Bible between Sundays, and my prayers are short and shallow, offered up in the midst of other activities. There’s not a lot of two-way conversation going on between me and God at the moment. There was a time when I had a good habit of meeting with Him over His Word, and there was exciting fruit from that that I could share with other people. These days as the Exploring God campaign kicks off here in Austin, I know I should be sharing what I love about Jesus with those who are seeking hope and meaning, but I need a refresher on just what it is that I love about Jesus first.

What to do? I can just buckle down and start telling people what I know about Christ. God is powerful. He can use me even if I’m not doing a great job at representing Him. But just like running without using my glutes, my prime movers, and relying on muscles meant to be helpers to do all the work, I won’t get far if my Jesus-talk is not backed up with a vibrant relationship with my Lord. Knowledge of the Bible, trying to do what’s right, pride – all these can compensate. But love of Christ, coming from an intimate day-to-day walk with Him, is meant to be my prime spiritual mover.

Before I do much running, I’m going to spend a lot of time lying on the floor concentrating fully on teaching my brain and glute muscles to talk to each other so my glutes move when I want them to. Right now just doing this makes my weak glutes sore, but eventually they will get stronger, and ultimately I will go outside and get them to move my legs when I run. In the same way, I need to set aside time and energy outside of Sunday mornings to connect my head with my heart. I need to have frequent, meaningful conversations with Jesus about Who He is and who I am in Him, about the things in me that I need Him to clean out so He can use me better, about the things He’s doing that He’s calling me to be a part of. To fall in love again. Once I have started to move my spiritual muscles, then I can rely on Him to move me in my daily activities to take advantage of opportunities to speak Hope to others. I’m going to flex my spiritual muscles in prayer and study, and then step out in faith to put that power into practice. I’m not retraining my glutes just so I can move them at will when I’m hanging around the house by myself – those buns are meant for running! In the same way, I’m looking forward to both loving and obeying Jesus, putting my faith into practice to make this place a little more like Heaven, more His Kingdom, day by day.

Hebrews 12:11-13: For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27: Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Matthew 7:24-25: Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house.  But it did not fall, because it was built on solid rock.

Next blog posts: Ironman Wisconsin reflections, comparison of Hammer HEED vs. Skratch Labs Hydration Mix