I am often asked, "how does Coach Bob make it through the holidays from a nutrition perspective?". So, I thought I would let you know how this Sport Dietitian thinks around this time of the year…
1. Don't calorie count. This isn't really specific to this time of the year because you shouldn't really do it. However, if you meticulously calculate the calories that you eat around the holidays, it will make you depressed and who wants that?
2. Enjoy food! Again, not really a holiday tip as you always should be especially during this time of the year. That doesn't mean eating junk. It means enjoying the taste of different foods. Remember, your taste buds are on your tongue, not your stomach!
3. Explore outside your comfort zone. Try new foods. What a great time of the year to have this opportunity. Who knows? You may add a favorite to your list.
4. Approach holiday parties as a way to improve your nutrition skills. It shouldn't be a sabotage situation but rather an opportunity to seek out the protein and veggies first and foremost. That will get you full and help reduce any cravings.
5. Don't stress out about treats. So maybe you do enjoy the holiday treats every so often. Don't think of yourself as a lesser person. Enjoy the taste, savor it and then move on to your normal way of eating again. It will help you develop a healthy relationship with food.
6. Make smoothies. A great way to get a liquid source of protein, fat and fiber. Experiment and have fun with different ingredients like sweet potatoes, kale, coconut and more! Check out the new Fuel4mance Smoothie e-recipe book for 85 great ideas!
Of course, the most important is to control your blood sugar by combining protein, fiber and fat together about 90% of the time you eat. Do your best but allow misses to happen (about 10% of the time). It's all about "ME" (metabolic efficiency)!
Enjoy the holidays!
Coach Bob
Email
Website
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Metabolic Efficiency Check-In
It's been about a year since I moved from vegetarianism to including animal protein in my daily nutrition plan and happily living the controlled carbohydrate, higher fat lifestyle. I wanted to do a short blog to describe where my metabolic efficiency is at today and explain a few things in the process. Here is my metabolic efficiency (ME) assessment as of yesterday.
The assessment was done on the treadmill, beginning at 8:27 minute/mile and progressing to the last stage of 6:19 min/mile. As you can see, I did have an MEP but my fat burning abilities were much less pronounced versus one year ago (look at the %'s to the left of my MEP). I will explain why that is soon. What I did differently this time around was measure my blood lactate to attempt to correlate LT (lactate threshold) with MEP (metabolic efficiency point). My MEP happened about :30 before my LT which indicates that my nutrition could better support my current fitness level. Keep in mind that I normally do not do ME and LT testing in the same test because they are looking at different variables. ME testing is not meant to test for threshold or even go that high in intensity while LT testing is only looking for the point in time where lactate clearance cannot keep up with lactate production (we do this to set heart rate and pace/power zones for athletes). Additionally, the pre-test protocol for ME testing is a 12 hour fast while pre-LT test protocol calls for entering the test just like you would a race, following the same nutrition plan with only about a 2 hour fast before.
I have been controlling my daily carbohydrate intake throughout this past year but it cycles daily and weekly based on my training needs (I call this microcycle nutrition periodization). I have been experimenting with adjusting my carbohydrate intake between 60-120 grams per day, mostly dependent upon my energy needs to support higher intensity triathlon and cyclocross training. That said, in the weeks leading up to my most recent ME assessment, I averaged roughly 100 grams of carbohydrate per day.
I was happy to see where my MEP was but take a look at where it was the month after I started eating meat again (October, 2012) and limiting my carbohydrate intake to 60-80 grams per day.
The intensity change per stage was the same with the exception that my last stage was a 6:31 min/mile. Yesterday, I was able to go one more stage (to a 6:19 min/mile), mostly because I have been training with higher intensity for cyclocross racing and am building into a reverse periodization triathlon training plan for 2014. What is very interesting is the overall amount of fat vs. carbohydrate that I was burning in my ME assessment last year versus this year. Today, while I am burning a decent amount of fat before my MEP, it is much less than one year ago.
Why you may ask? Pretty simple actually. Combine my eating 20-40 more grams of carbohydrate per day along with pretty high intensity exercise and you get less fat burning. Nothing that would raise a red flag but nonetheless, still a lower amount. The take-home message for me is that lowering my daily carbohydrate intake to around 60-80 grams yields a higher state of metabolic efficiency. This is for my body as everyone will be different based on their training, genetics, carbohydrate intolerance and daily nutrition plan.
As I continue to cycle my daily carbohydrate and fat intakes in search of the right equation that yields the "biggest bang for my buck", I will continue my ME testing more often during this off-season. While there really isn't a technical definition of "low carb", I do believe that an ideal range exists for each athlete. One that yields both optimal metabolic efficiency and performance while having the ideal body weight and body composition. It's a fun exploration and I will continue to report my progress. Hopefully, there are some take-aways for you also in relation to changing your daily nutrition plan to improve your body's ability to burn more fat.
Stay tuned…
Coach Bob
Email
Website
The assessment was done on the treadmill, beginning at 8:27 minute/mile and progressing to the last stage of 6:19 min/mile. As you can see, I did have an MEP but my fat burning abilities were much less pronounced versus one year ago (look at the %'s to the left of my MEP). I will explain why that is soon. What I did differently this time around was measure my blood lactate to attempt to correlate LT (lactate threshold) with MEP (metabolic efficiency point). My MEP happened about :30 before my LT which indicates that my nutrition could better support my current fitness level. Keep in mind that I normally do not do ME and LT testing in the same test because they are looking at different variables. ME testing is not meant to test for threshold or even go that high in intensity while LT testing is only looking for the point in time where lactate clearance cannot keep up with lactate production (we do this to set heart rate and pace/power zones for athletes). Additionally, the pre-test protocol for ME testing is a 12 hour fast while pre-LT test protocol calls for entering the test just like you would a race, following the same nutrition plan with only about a 2 hour fast before.
I have been controlling my daily carbohydrate intake throughout this past year but it cycles daily and weekly based on my training needs (I call this microcycle nutrition periodization). I have been experimenting with adjusting my carbohydrate intake between 60-120 grams per day, mostly dependent upon my energy needs to support higher intensity triathlon and cyclocross training. That said, in the weeks leading up to my most recent ME assessment, I averaged roughly 100 grams of carbohydrate per day.
I was happy to see where my MEP was but take a look at where it was the month after I started eating meat again (October, 2012) and limiting my carbohydrate intake to 60-80 grams per day.
The intensity change per stage was the same with the exception that my last stage was a 6:31 min/mile. Yesterday, I was able to go one more stage (to a 6:19 min/mile), mostly because I have been training with higher intensity for cyclocross racing and am building into a reverse periodization triathlon training plan for 2014. What is very interesting is the overall amount of fat vs. carbohydrate that I was burning in my ME assessment last year versus this year. Today, while I am burning a decent amount of fat before my MEP, it is much less than one year ago.
Why you may ask? Pretty simple actually. Combine my eating 20-40 more grams of carbohydrate per day along with pretty high intensity exercise and you get less fat burning. Nothing that would raise a red flag but nonetheless, still a lower amount. The take-home message for me is that lowering my daily carbohydrate intake to around 60-80 grams yields a higher state of metabolic efficiency. This is for my body as everyone will be different based on their training, genetics, carbohydrate intolerance and daily nutrition plan.
As I continue to cycle my daily carbohydrate and fat intakes in search of the right equation that yields the "biggest bang for my buck", I will continue my ME testing more often during this off-season. While there really isn't a technical definition of "low carb", I do believe that an ideal range exists for each athlete. One that yields both optimal metabolic efficiency and performance while having the ideal body weight and body composition. It's a fun exploration and I will continue to report my progress. Hopefully, there are some take-aways for you also in relation to changing your daily nutrition plan to improve your body's ability to burn more fat.
Stay tuned…
Coach Bob
Website
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Metabolic Efficiency and Nutrition Periodization
I am asked quite often what the difference is between my two concepts: Metabolic Efficiency and Nutrition Periodization. Here's the down low on the differences.
Nutrition Periodization is the overall concept that is utilized as the foundation of any athlete's sport nutritional needs. Each athlete will follow different training cycles with altering volume, intensity and energy expenditure and because of this, their nutrition program should support these alterations. That is the basic idea behind Nutrition Periodization: support the body's energy needs with varying training load shifts in order to optimize physical training performance. Irrespective of the sport, gender, position or class of athlete, Nutrition Periodization is the cornerstone of athlete nutritional planning.
Metabolic Efficiency is based on the premise of controlling and optimizing blood sugar. There is not one time that an athlete should not have the goal of doing this. The reason behind this concept was to eliminate GI distress in athletes who were prone to having this during training and competition. However, not all athletes experience GI distress so these athletes have argued that they do not need to be metabolically efficient. Unfortunately, they may not know that there are very positive ancillary benefits to improving their metabolic efficiency such as blood lipid improvement, decrease in risk factors for certain diseases, improvement in recovery and sleep patterns and weight loss/fat loss.
Metabolic Efficiency is a component of an athlete's overall Nutrition Periodization program. At certain times throughout the competition year, an athlete may wish to manipulate their body weight and composition or improve health markers. This is where the ancillary benefits of Metabolic Efficiency come into play. Every athlete should have the number one goal of controlling and optimizing blood sugar. It is just a matter of timing in regards to when they implement the different approaches to Metabolic Efficiency.
The most basic way to begin the metabolic efficiency path is to watch your carbohydrate to protein ratio. In brief, if a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio of carb to protein is maintained at meals and snacks, it will optimize blood sugar thus reaping the benefits of hormonal control. From there, it is up to the athlete on how to progress their metabolic efficiency. There are a handful of additional dietary strategies that the Sport Dietitians at Fuel4mance implement based on the athlete and their individual needs. This is also taught in the Fuel4mance Metabolic Efficiency Training Specialist Certification.
For now, the take-home message is that Nutrition Periodization is the guiding nutrition principle for athletes and Metabolic Efficiency is a sub-concept within the overall nutrition plan. Metabolic Efficiency can have significant positive ancillary results aside from just blood sugar optimization and I recommend athletes get a good Sport Dietitian on their performance team to help guide them through the process.
Coach Bob
Email
Website
Nutrition Periodization is the overall concept that is utilized as the foundation of any athlete's sport nutritional needs. Each athlete will follow different training cycles with altering volume, intensity and energy expenditure and because of this, their nutrition program should support these alterations. That is the basic idea behind Nutrition Periodization: support the body's energy needs with varying training load shifts in order to optimize physical training performance. Irrespective of the sport, gender, position or class of athlete, Nutrition Periodization is the cornerstone of athlete nutritional planning.
Metabolic Efficiency is based on the premise of controlling and optimizing blood sugar. There is not one time that an athlete should not have the goal of doing this. The reason behind this concept was to eliminate GI distress in athletes who were prone to having this during training and competition. However, not all athletes experience GI distress so these athletes have argued that they do not need to be metabolically efficient. Unfortunately, they may not know that there are very positive ancillary benefits to improving their metabolic efficiency such as blood lipid improvement, decrease in risk factors for certain diseases, improvement in recovery and sleep patterns and weight loss/fat loss.
Metabolic Efficiency is a component of an athlete's overall Nutrition Periodization program. At certain times throughout the competition year, an athlete may wish to manipulate their body weight and composition or improve health markers. This is where the ancillary benefits of Metabolic Efficiency come into play. Every athlete should have the number one goal of controlling and optimizing blood sugar. It is just a matter of timing in regards to when they implement the different approaches to Metabolic Efficiency.
The most basic way to begin the metabolic efficiency path is to watch your carbohydrate to protein ratio. In brief, if a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio of carb to protein is maintained at meals and snacks, it will optimize blood sugar thus reaping the benefits of hormonal control. From there, it is up to the athlete on how to progress their metabolic efficiency. There are a handful of additional dietary strategies that the Sport Dietitians at Fuel4mance implement based on the athlete and their individual needs. This is also taught in the Fuel4mance Metabolic Efficiency Training Specialist Certification.
For now, the take-home message is that Nutrition Periodization is the guiding nutrition principle for athletes and Metabolic Efficiency is a sub-concept within the overall nutrition plan. Metabolic Efficiency can have significant positive ancillary results aside from just blood sugar optimization and I recommend athletes get a good Sport Dietitian on their performance team to help guide them through the process.
Coach Bob
Website
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Metabolic Efficiency FAQ's
I have been talking quite a bit about Metabolic Efficiency (ME) lately to different groups and podcasts and have realized that there are still quite a few misconceptions about the concept floating around. Let me take the opportunity to address some of these to clear up any confusion.
1. What is Metabolic Efficiency?
ME is a lifestyle change that focuses on combining the proper nutrients (food) during feedings to properly control and optimize blood sugar. This teaches the body (from a cellular level) how to use fat better as an energy source and preserve carbohydrates.
2. Why is it important?
ME has a profound effect on health by improving certain blood lipid markers and decrease the risk of metabolic syndrome and some chronic disease states. It also reduces body weight and body fat.
ME has a performance effect also. It eliminates GI distress (nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, etc.) in endurance athletes and also reduces the amount of calories needed per hour of exercise. It does this by increasing the amount of fat used at higher intensities. Because glycogen (stored carbohydrate) depletion is the deterrent to athletic success during competition, it makes sense that you would want to use more fat as fuel at higher intensities and preserve carbohydrates until they are really needed.
3. Is it for me?
ME is for anyone with a health or performance related goal. I use the ME plan for myself, my kids, my mom...really anyone. Remember, it's all about controlling and optimizing blood sugar through the different combinations of food. It's safe as long as it is not followed to an extreme for too long.
4. What types of athletes is it good for?
ME works for all athletes but let me make it known that ME is a part of the big picture, that being Nutrition Periodization. As an athlete, you must determine what training cycle you are in first then alter your nutrition to support your energy needs, body weight/fat goals, immune system and health accordingly. For example, an endurance athlete could follow ME year-round but change their carbohydrate and fat consumption based on the time of the year. A bit higher carbohydrate (not a high carb diet) intake during competition cycle may make sense for some athletes while a lower carbohydrate intake would make sense during off-season and early base training.
5. How do I follow the ME diet?
You don't. It's not a diet. It is a manipulation of nutrients based on training and lifestyle. Diets don't work. Diet's are not successful long-term. The ME plan works for anyone because it takes into consideration activity level and other health and performance related goals. The great thing is that all you need to do is change the quantities of carbohydrate, protein and fat throughout the year. ME works beautifully with all sorts of individuals but it must be periodized just like training.
6. What if I screw up?
A change in nutrition is a change in behavior. It takes a few months to really make a new habit stick and there are planned and expected "speedbumps" along the way. Expect these as they will teach good lessons. Don't expect to be perfect. There is no such thing. Allow these "speedbumps" and do not let them affect your self confidence and progress moving forward with your ME plan. As long as you control about 90% of your food, timing and choices, you will do great. The other 10% will be your "speedbumps".
Of course, there is also the topic of nutrient timing and ME. How do you follow the ME plan during training to optimize fat burning and performance at the same time? That will be my discussion for my next blog.
Refer to the great ME resources at the Fuel4mance website for more information.
Stay tuned.
Coach Bob
Email
Website
1. What is Metabolic Efficiency?
ME is a lifestyle change that focuses on combining the proper nutrients (food) during feedings to properly control and optimize blood sugar. This teaches the body (from a cellular level) how to use fat better as an energy source and preserve carbohydrates.
2. Why is it important?
ME has a profound effect on health by improving certain blood lipid markers and decrease the risk of metabolic syndrome and some chronic disease states. It also reduces body weight and body fat.
ME has a performance effect also. It eliminates GI distress (nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, etc.) in endurance athletes and also reduces the amount of calories needed per hour of exercise. It does this by increasing the amount of fat used at higher intensities. Because glycogen (stored carbohydrate) depletion is the deterrent to athletic success during competition, it makes sense that you would want to use more fat as fuel at higher intensities and preserve carbohydrates until they are really needed.
3. Is it for me?
ME is for anyone with a health or performance related goal. I use the ME plan for myself, my kids, my mom...really anyone. Remember, it's all about controlling and optimizing blood sugar through the different combinations of food. It's safe as long as it is not followed to an extreme for too long.
4. What types of athletes is it good for?
ME works for all athletes but let me make it known that ME is a part of the big picture, that being Nutrition Periodization. As an athlete, you must determine what training cycle you are in first then alter your nutrition to support your energy needs, body weight/fat goals, immune system and health accordingly. For example, an endurance athlete could follow ME year-round but change their carbohydrate and fat consumption based on the time of the year. A bit higher carbohydrate (not a high carb diet) intake during competition cycle may make sense for some athletes while a lower carbohydrate intake would make sense during off-season and early base training.
5. How do I follow the ME diet?
You don't. It's not a diet. It is a manipulation of nutrients based on training and lifestyle. Diets don't work. Diet's are not successful long-term. The ME plan works for anyone because it takes into consideration activity level and other health and performance related goals. The great thing is that all you need to do is change the quantities of carbohydrate, protein and fat throughout the year. ME works beautifully with all sorts of individuals but it must be periodized just like training.
6. What if I screw up?
A change in nutrition is a change in behavior. It takes a few months to really make a new habit stick and there are planned and expected "speedbumps" along the way. Expect these as they will teach good lessons. Don't expect to be perfect. There is no such thing. Allow these "speedbumps" and do not let them affect your self confidence and progress moving forward with your ME plan. As long as you control about 90% of your food, timing and choices, you will do great. The other 10% will be your "speedbumps".
Of course, there is also the topic of nutrient timing and ME. How do you follow the ME plan during training to optimize fat burning and performance at the same time? That will be my discussion for my next blog.
Refer to the great ME resources at the Fuel4mance website for more information.
Stay tuned.
Coach Bob
Website
Monday, September 23, 2013
low psi
One week ago, I embarked on one of the most exciting ventures of my entire sports career. I have had my fair share of participating in some pretty cool events like six Ironman races, the Boston Marathon, the Leadville Leadman series and crewing for the Badwater 135 and the Brazil 135 but there was something about September 14, 2013 that I will remember forever. My first cyclocross race.
The feeling was a bit like my first triathlon back in 1993 except I have much more knowledge of sport and training. My first tri was done off of a dare in college and I had no idea what I was doing. I swam in a pool with heavily padded cycling shorts and I rode a mountain bike with big knobby tires. Luckily, growing up a soccer player, I knew how to run and found extreme joy running a 5k off the bike even though I had never experienced this "dead leg" syndrome before. After crossing the finishing line in the far, far back, I knew I had a new found love of a different sport. One that has taken me 20 years to explore.
In 2006, I took a sabbatical from triathlon and embarked upon my ultrarunning and ultra mountain biking interests. It was definitely more of a challenge than what I was used to (yes, even Ironman training and racing was easier) and that is what peaked my interest. I spent a few years getting dirty on trails before I realized how much I missed triathlon. So, I returned back to triathlon and began with short course (sprint and Olympic distances) again due to lack of time for heavy volume training. What I had learned was that my body loved this type of shorter training. No more than 1.5-2 hour training sessions. High intensity repeats. Plyometric training. It was like I found my home again. Growing up playing soccer, I had endurance but was much better suited for the stop and go, anaerobic nature of that type of sport. I was driven to become as fast as I could in shorter triathlons not necessarily to see how good I could be but rather, to regain the sensation of going fast and using more of my anaerobic energy system. It was this, and the true curiosity, that led me to completing my first cyclocross race last weekend.
I have a cyclocross bike and I know how to bike, even push my limits. What I didn't know prior to my first cyclocross race was anything really about the tactics. I watched some YouTube videos but that didn't teach me much. I talked to some friends who had done some races and began to understand a bit more about the sport but it wasn't until toeing the line that I truly gained my first lesson in what cyclocross really is.
I had no idea what category to enter so luckily, my friend Brandon Jessop gave me some tips and he was spot on with his selection: SM35+4. That means senior men over 35 years old, category 4. Sounded good to me, not knowing really what that meant in terms of how good the guys would be. My goals for my first race were very simple: 1) have fun, 2) don't crash, 3) don't get lapped and 4) inspire the teens that I coach at Teens that TRI to try a cyclocross race.
Luckily, I achieved all four of my goals. I was a bit worried about goal #2 because it is hard to control others actions. In fact, on my first lap, three guys went down right in front of me in a pile up. I was able to act quickly and ride up a little hill on their left to avoid them. But I digress, let me take you back to the start. I lined up in the second line (out of three), not knowing what to expect. The starter gave us some instructions and then 30 seconds later, the whistle blew. Welcome to sprinting! Two guys sandwiched me in the first few seconds so I bumped the one on the right to give me some space. He was a bit upset but I wasn't about to go down so soon in the race! Luckily, I have built up my technical cycling skills by teaching them to my teens so I wasn't afraid of bumping or locking bars.
Off we went. It was a mad sprint to the doubletrack! I played it safe and sat in the middle. Remembering that this was my first cyclocross race, I wanted to observe what the athletes did, how they responded, when to attack and when to sit. My first lap was pretty hard but not all out. Second and third laps were getting tougher as I was learning what to do, how to take corners, get on and off my bike fast to get over obstacles and handling my high heart rate. Figuring out when to get a few seconds of recovery was the tricky part. I managed to do this around some corners where the speeds were pretty slow.
Mud pits, 180 degree turns, super short and steep hills and bunny hops...all while redlining my intensity. I had predicted we may finish about 4 laps of the course in the 40 minute race but boy was I wrong! At lap 3, they announced we had 3 more laps! This meant I wasn't going to get lapped so a good thing but another 3 laps? Could I do it? I buckled down, told myself it was only about another 20 minutes and actually starting gaining on some guys. I was getting a bit faster and more comfortable with the course as time went on.
I had the support of many of my Teens that TRI families out there along with friends and my family. It was awesome having all of them screaming for (at) me during the race as I surely needed the pick me up at times. Last lap, coming around the last corner on pavement after a mudpit (read: my tires were slick), I was cautious on the turn then threw down my finish line sprint. At least I think I was sprinting but that is beside the point. I crossed the finish line the same way I rode my first lap: with a huge smile on my face.
There is something about cyclocross that is addicting (like most sports). For me, it is the anaerobic nature of the sport along with the tactical skills. Both of which I look forward to in the next few months of cyclocross season in Colorado!
Are you wondering why the title of this blog is "low psi"? Well, in cyclocross, as I am learning, tire pressure is a big thing. Deciding on which tire pressure to run can make or break your race. Course conditions, rider weight, environmental concerns all factor into this. It was funny because in some of my research about cyclocross, I read the most talked about thing prior to the race is what tire pressure are athletes running. I also experienced first hand the psychological tactics some racers use in the few minutes before the race. Lined up at the front, guys were letting out some pressure in their tires almost taunting others to question if their pressure was too high.
Funny. Welcome to cyclocross!
Coach Bob
Email
Website
The feeling was a bit like my first triathlon back in 1993 except I have much more knowledge of sport and training. My first tri was done off of a dare in college and I had no idea what I was doing. I swam in a pool with heavily padded cycling shorts and I rode a mountain bike with big knobby tires. Luckily, growing up a soccer player, I knew how to run and found extreme joy running a 5k off the bike even though I had never experienced this "dead leg" syndrome before. After crossing the finishing line in the far, far back, I knew I had a new found love of a different sport. One that has taken me 20 years to explore.
In 2006, I took a sabbatical from triathlon and embarked upon my ultrarunning and ultra mountain biking interests. It was definitely more of a challenge than what I was used to (yes, even Ironman training and racing was easier) and that is what peaked my interest. I spent a few years getting dirty on trails before I realized how much I missed triathlon. So, I returned back to triathlon and began with short course (sprint and Olympic distances) again due to lack of time for heavy volume training. What I had learned was that my body loved this type of shorter training. No more than 1.5-2 hour training sessions. High intensity repeats. Plyometric training. It was like I found my home again. Growing up playing soccer, I had endurance but was much better suited for the stop and go, anaerobic nature of that type of sport. I was driven to become as fast as I could in shorter triathlons not necessarily to see how good I could be but rather, to regain the sensation of going fast and using more of my anaerobic energy system. It was this, and the true curiosity, that led me to completing my first cyclocross race last weekend.
I have a cyclocross bike and I know how to bike, even push my limits. What I didn't know prior to my first cyclocross race was anything really about the tactics. I watched some YouTube videos but that didn't teach me much. I talked to some friends who had done some races and began to understand a bit more about the sport but it wasn't until toeing the line that I truly gained my first lesson in what cyclocross really is.
I had no idea what category to enter so luckily, my friend Brandon Jessop gave me some tips and he was spot on with his selection: SM35+4. That means senior men over 35 years old, category 4. Sounded good to me, not knowing really what that meant in terms of how good the guys would be. My goals for my first race were very simple: 1) have fun, 2) don't crash, 3) don't get lapped and 4) inspire the teens that I coach at Teens that TRI to try a cyclocross race.
Luckily, I achieved all four of my goals. I was a bit worried about goal #2 because it is hard to control others actions. In fact, on my first lap, three guys went down right in front of me in a pile up. I was able to act quickly and ride up a little hill on their left to avoid them. But I digress, let me take you back to the start. I lined up in the second line (out of three), not knowing what to expect. The starter gave us some instructions and then 30 seconds later, the whistle blew. Welcome to sprinting! Two guys sandwiched me in the first few seconds so I bumped the one on the right to give me some space. He was a bit upset but I wasn't about to go down so soon in the race! Luckily, I have built up my technical cycling skills by teaching them to my teens so I wasn't afraid of bumping or locking bars.
Off we went. It was a mad sprint to the doubletrack! I played it safe and sat in the middle. Remembering that this was my first cyclocross race, I wanted to observe what the athletes did, how they responded, when to attack and when to sit. My first lap was pretty hard but not all out. Second and third laps were getting tougher as I was learning what to do, how to take corners, get on and off my bike fast to get over obstacles and handling my high heart rate. Figuring out when to get a few seconds of recovery was the tricky part. I managed to do this around some corners where the speeds were pretty slow.
Mud pits, 180 degree turns, super short and steep hills and bunny hops...all while redlining my intensity. I had predicted we may finish about 4 laps of the course in the 40 minute race but boy was I wrong! At lap 3, they announced we had 3 more laps! This meant I wasn't going to get lapped so a good thing but another 3 laps? Could I do it? I buckled down, told myself it was only about another 20 minutes and actually starting gaining on some guys. I was getting a bit faster and more comfortable with the course as time went on.
I had the support of many of my Teens that TRI families out there along with friends and my family. It was awesome having all of them screaming for (at) me during the race as I surely needed the pick me up at times. Last lap, coming around the last corner on pavement after a mudpit (read: my tires were slick), I was cautious on the turn then threw down my finish line sprint. At least I think I was sprinting but that is beside the point. I crossed the finish line the same way I rode my first lap: with a huge smile on my face.
There is something about cyclocross that is addicting (like most sports). For me, it is the anaerobic nature of the sport along with the tactical skills. Both of which I look forward to in the next few months of cyclocross season in Colorado!
Are you wondering why the title of this blog is "low psi"? Well, in cyclocross, as I am learning, tire pressure is a big thing. Deciding on which tire pressure to run can make or break your race. Course conditions, rider weight, environmental concerns all factor into this. It was funny because in some of my research about cyclocross, I read the most talked about thing prior to the race is what tire pressure are athletes running. I also experienced first hand the psychological tactics some racers use in the few minutes before the race. Lined up at the front, guys were letting out some pressure in their tires almost taunting others to question if their pressure was too high.
Funny. Welcome to cyclocross!
Coach Bob
Website
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Perspire 2 Inspire
Admittedly, and on purpose, I took the title of this Blog from the Runwell "Perspire 2 Inspire" campaign that they are doing because it just makes so much sense on so many levels. In this blog, I want to recap my Labor Day weekend trip to Ironkids National Championships and the 5150 Championships.
I was honored to have 42 of my Kids and Teens that TRI team members and their families travel to Des Moines, Iowa for Ironkids Nationals. All had to qualify for the race and while each young athlete had their individual goals, my intent for them is always to be safe, have fun, exhibit good sportsmanship and inspire others to be more active through the sport of triathlon. All finished the race and while some had great performances, others did not. That is where the Perspire 2 Inspire comes into play. I addressed many of my young team members after the race and of course congratulated them for putting out their best effort but as always, I used that opportunity as a teachable moment.
By now, my Kids and Teens that TRI get it. They know that Coach Bob will have words of wisdom for them but that they must also apply my words to real life. To those who did not achieve their performance related goals, I reminded them that the act of preparation and all of the training, dedication, motivation and life balance was one of the biggest successes of the day. A race is just a race and not something that defines you as a person. Rather, it is how you approach every day leading up to the race in your preparation that matters. Are you taking care of yourself? Getting enough sleep? Practicing good nutrition? Balancing school and family and friends with training? Are you doing the proper things to recover your body? It is these things that I remind them that are of greater importance than a placing in one race. Doing the right thing on a daily basis teaches character. Even more important though is how you react to a race that may not go the way you wanted it to. It is okay to be upset but it is not okay to lose focus of why you are doing this or exhibit poor sportsmanship because things didn't go your way. Be proud of your effort. Be proud of who you are as a person.
It was during these teachable moments where I reminded them what Perspire 2 Inspire really means. The day was much more than just a performance. It was shaping their lifestyle and not only theirs but also their parents, siblings and friends and for that, they should hold their chins up high and be proud.
I was conveniently reminded of this during my race the very next day. I was honored to have qualified in the amateur elite category for the 5150 championships and approached it as a challenge. Sure, I was the oldest out of 35 guys in the category but I never let chronological age stand in my way of achieving something great. For me, having qualified as a 42 year old amateur elite was no easy task but even more important was the message that I wanted to send to my Kids and Teens that TRI team and my family. I never make any excuses going into a race. If something hurts, I deal with it. If I am sick, I deal with it. If I am tired, I race the best I can on that day and that is what I want my team to remember. It is all about a positive mental attitude and giving your very best from start to finish.
Interestingly, I had a horrible swim that day, had no legs on the bike at all but I had very good transitions and a fast run. I knew my swim would be slow when I took my first few strokes but I persevered and did my best to get out of the water as fast as I could. After hopping on my bike and testing out my legs, I knew it would not be a PR bike and I was okay with that. It is how you react to the cards that you are dealt with that truly defines character. At that point, I did not succumb to failure or simply just finishing the race. I was still racing despite knowing it was not my best day. But I thought back about all of the fun that I had preparing for this race and I had friends and my son cheering for me along the way. It really doesn't get any better than that.
Upon crossing the finish line, I was excited to see my friends and my son but truly embraced the next thing that happened. After I crossed, I saw Hunter Kemper standing near the finish and I went up to him and congratulated him on his 2nd place finish. I have worked with Hunter for many years on his nutrition so we know each other and to say that he is a class act person and athlete is an understatement. He was one of the very few pro's that I saw who was still hanging around the finish chute after his race to talk to age-groupers. He then came over to my friends and shared good conversation and took some photos with the kids. Hunter is, and has always been, one of my most favorite professional triathletes because of what he does off the field of competition.
Perspire 2 Inspire. Enjoy the journey in preparing to achieve your goals but more importantly, to inspire others to do the same thing. All 42 of my young athletes did it. I did it. Hunter Kemper did it. We can all share our love of sport in different ways. Find your way and lead others to it.
Until next time...
Coach Bob
Email
Website
I was honored to have 42 of my Kids and Teens that TRI team members and their families travel to Des Moines, Iowa for Ironkids Nationals. All had to qualify for the race and while each young athlete had their individual goals, my intent for them is always to be safe, have fun, exhibit good sportsmanship and inspire others to be more active through the sport of triathlon. All finished the race and while some had great performances, others did not. That is where the Perspire 2 Inspire comes into play. I addressed many of my young team members after the race and of course congratulated them for putting out their best effort but as always, I used that opportunity as a teachable moment.
By now, my Kids and Teens that TRI get it. They know that Coach Bob will have words of wisdom for them but that they must also apply my words to real life. To those who did not achieve their performance related goals, I reminded them that the act of preparation and all of the training, dedication, motivation and life balance was one of the biggest successes of the day. A race is just a race and not something that defines you as a person. Rather, it is how you approach every day leading up to the race in your preparation that matters. Are you taking care of yourself? Getting enough sleep? Practicing good nutrition? Balancing school and family and friends with training? Are you doing the proper things to recover your body? It is these things that I remind them that are of greater importance than a placing in one race. Doing the right thing on a daily basis teaches character. Even more important though is how you react to a race that may not go the way you wanted it to. It is okay to be upset but it is not okay to lose focus of why you are doing this or exhibit poor sportsmanship because things didn't go your way. Be proud of your effort. Be proud of who you are as a person.
It was during these teachable moments where I reminded them what Perspire 2 Inspire really means. The day was much more than just a performance. It was shaping their lifestyle and not only theirs but also their parents, siblings and friends and for that, they should hold their chins up high and be proud.
I was conveniently reminded of this during my race the very next day. I was honored to have qualified in the amateur elite category for the 5150 championships and approached it as a challenge. Sure, I was the oldest out of 35 guys in the category but I never let chronological age stand in my way of achieving something great. For me, having qualified as a 42 year old amateur elite was no easy task but even more important was the message that I wanted to send to my Kids and Teens that TRI team and my family. I never make any excuses going into a race. If something hurts, I deal with it. If I am sick, I deal with it. If I am tired, I race the best I can on that day and that is what I want my team to remember. It is all about a positive mental attitude and giving your very best from start to finish.
Interestingly, I had a horrible swim that day, had no legs on the bike at all but I had very good transitions and a fast run. I knew my swim would be slow when I took my first few strokes but I persevered and did my best to get out of the water as fast as I could. After hopping on my bike and testing out my legs, I knew it would not be a PR bike and I was okay with that. It is how you react to the cards that you are dealt with that truly defines character. At that point, I did not succumb to failure or simply just finishing the race. I was still racing despite knowing it was not my best day. But I thought back about all of the fun that I had preparing for this race and I had friends and my son cheering for me along the way. It really doesn't get any better than that.
Upon crossing the finish line, I was excited to see my friends and my son but truly embraced the next thing that happened. After I crossed, I saw Hunter Kemper standing near the finish and I went up to him and congratulated him on his 2nd place finish. I have worked with Hunter for many years on his nutrition so we know each other and to say that he is a class act person and athlete is an understatement. He was one of the very few pro's that I saw who was still hanging around the finish chute after his race to talk to age-groupers. He then came over to my friends and shared good conversation and took some photos with the kids. Hunter is, and has always been, one of my most favorite professional triathletes because of what he does off the field of competition.
Perspire 2 Inspire. Enjoy the journey in preparing to achieve your goals but more importantly, to inspire others to do the same thing. All 42 of my young athletes did it. I did it. Hunter Kemper did it. We can all share our love of sport in different ways. Find your way and lead others to it.
Until next time...
Coach Bob
Website
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
The numbers are in...Badwater
Almost a month ago, I had the honor of serving as crew chief for one of my most amazing athletes, Linda Quirk of Runwell, as she embarked on her journey to conquer Badwater, a 135 mile running race in California.
Badwater is not just another 135 mile race though. It begins in Death Valley, below sea level and finishes at the base of Mt. Whitney, about 8300 feet above sea level. The vertical ascent may not be that big of a deal for some but the heat sure is! I was eager to experience first hand what 120+ degrees felt like when running and it certainly did not disappoint.
We had a six crew team to assist Linda in making it to the finish line and while I will spare some of the details for sake of keeping this blog somewhat short, here are a few things I noticed along the way:
Badwater is not just another 135 mile race though. It begins in Death Valley, below sea level and finishes at the base of Mt. Whitney, about 8300 feet above sea level. The vertical ascent may not be that big of a deal for some but the heat sure is! I was eager to experience first hand what 120+ degrees felt like when running and it certainly did not disappoint.
We had a six crew team to assist Linda in making it to the finish line and while I will spare some of the details for sake of keeping this blog somewhat short, here are a few things I noticed along the way:
- Running in 120 degrees is hot. Running on black asphalt adds even more heat, upwards of 160-170 degrees from what I was told. It definitely felt that hot! In fact, at one point during my pacing of Linda during the hotter part of the day, I had clothing covering everything except the back of my hands and my cheeks. When I was out there on the road, I felt like I was running in an oven. There was no break from the heat until the night time. Even after taking a pacer shift with her, I would hop back in the air conditioned car and it would take me about 15-20 minutes to stop sweating!
- Our pacers usually carried a water sprayer to cool Linda off while she was running. I continually used it on myself also to try to keep cool and I remember at one point of spraying my shorts with water, it evaporated so quickly that I couldn't even see the water make contact with my shorts. HOT!
- Linda got no sleep at all for two days. In fact, the most she ever stopped was about 10 minutes (and that was to try to get a back adjustment). I slept for about 40 minutes, all interrupted as car doors where slamming. It's the nature of the game. All well worth it though.
- In my opinion, the hardest part of the course was right before entering the last town, Lone Pine. It was the hottest part of day two, I was running with Linda on black asphalt, carrying the water sprayer on my back and just remember the intense heat coupled with the gnarly crosswind that was blowing fine sand on our bodies. There is hardly any shoulder on the road that we ran on and running against traffic with an athlete who is sleep deprived can be quite nerve racking. All of our crew members had to ensure Linda's safety from oncoming cars. After we made it to Lone Pine, it was much better yet all uphill to the finish!
- I chew gum while I run. It keeps my saliva response "fresh" and prevents dry mouth. I cannot even begin to describe how much fluid I drank while out on the road and in the crew car during the race. Linda on the other hand cannot chew gum so she had serious cases of dry mouth which meant she drank quite a bit of fluids. I tried to monitor this and her electrolyte intake as closely as possible but in a race like Badwater, dehydration can destroy goals (and the body) thus I wanted her to drink according to her thirst most of the time during the hotter parts of the day. During the cooler night opportunities, I decreased her fluid intake. It was quite a hydration and electrolyte circus!
- Food. Ah, food. We had the best laid out nutrition plan before the race, tried it throughout training and it worked. Guess what? As I always teach, you must always have an A, B and C nutrition plan for races like Badwater. Linda depended on Generation UCAN as her main source of calories but there were times where she just didn't have a taste for it. So, I had to rely on plans B and C and get her calories with other food sources. Luckily, Linda is extremely metabolically efficient and requires very few calories per hour to sustain exercise. The other sources of calories we included throughout the race were potato chips, peanut butter and jelly, crackers and jam, pretzels, coconut butter, Clif Mojo bar and even a bit of a Snickers bar (if you read my blog about our Brazil 135 adventure in January, you remember that Snickers saved us!).
- In all, to the best of our food recording abilities between myself and my colleague Dina Griffin, Sport Dietitian at Fuel4mance who was part of our crew, we concluded that Linda consumed approximately 80 calories per hour. How many hours did it take her to complete the world's hardest ultra running race?
Well, Linda's goal was not really to finish Badwater. Her goal was to break the record in her age-group which was [previously] just over 47 hours. The cutoff time to complete the race was 48 hours. With the help of her crew and her sheer determination and competitiveness, she crossed the finish line in 44 hours. Yes, she not only finished her first Badwater but smashed her age-group record. All while consuming roughly 80 calories per hour.
Impossible? I think not. Wait until you hear about our next adventure together! Stay tuned...
Coach Bob
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