Recovery run importance

A fresh perspective on recovery runs
By Matt Fitzgerald
For Active.com
January 18, 2007

It is widely assumed that the purpose of recovery runs -- which we may define as relatively short, slow runs undertaken within 24 hours after a harder run -- is to facilitate recovery from preceding hard training. You hear coaches talk about how recovery runs increase blood flow to the legs, clearing away lactic acid and so forth.

The truth is that lactic acid levels return to normal within an hour after even the most brutal workouts. Nor does lactic acid cause muscle fatigue in the first place. Nor is there any evidence that the sort of light activity that a recovery run entails promotes muscle tissue repair, glycogen replenishment or any other physiological response that is actually relevant to muscle recovery.
What is the real benefit of recovery runs?
In short, recovery runs do not enhance recovery. Nevertheless, recovery runs are almost universally practiced by top runners. That wouldn't be the case if this type of workout weren't beneficial.

So what is the real benefit of recovery runs? The real benefit of recovery runs is that they increase your fitness -- perhaps almost as much as longer, faster runs do -- by challenging you to run in a pre-fatigued state (i.e. a state of lingering fatigue from previous training.)

There is evidence that fitness adaptations occur not so much in proportion to how much time you spend exercising but rather in proportion to how much time you spend exercising beyond the point of initial fatigue in workouts. So-called key workouts (runs that are challenging in their pace or duration) boost fitness by taking your body well beyond the point of initial fatigue.
Recovery workouts, on the other hand, are performed entirely in a fatigued state, and therefore also boost fitness despite being shorter and/or slower than key workouts.
Evidence of the special benefit of pre-fatigued exercise comes from an interesting study out of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. In this study, subjects exercised one leg once daily and the other leg twice every other day. The total amount of training was equal for both legs, but the leg that was trained twice every other day was forced to train in a pre-fatigued state in the afternoon (recovery) workouts, which occurred just hours after the morning workouts.
After several weeks of training in this split manner, the subjects engaged in an endurance test with both legs. The researchers found that the leg trained twice every other day increased its endurance 90 percent more than the other leg.
Creating a setback to get ahead
Additional research has shown that when athletes begin a workout with energy-depleted muscle fibers and lingering muscle damage from previous training, the brain alters the muscle recruitment patterns used to produce movement. Essentially, the brain tries to avoid using the worn-out muscle fibers and instead involves fresher muscle fibers that are less worn out precisely because they are less preferred under normal conditions.



When your brain is forced out of its normal muscle recruitment patterns in this manner, it finds neuromuscular "shortcuts" that enable you to run more efficiently (using less energy at any given speed) in the future. Pre-fatigued running is sort of like a flash flood that forces you to alter your normal morning commute route. The detour seems a setback at first, but in searching for an alternative way to reach the office, you might find a faster way -- or at least a way that's faster under conditions that negatively affect your normal route.
Following are some tips for effective use of recovery runs:
Whenever you run again within 24 hours of completing a key workout (or any run that has left you severely fatigued or exhausted), the follow-up run should usually be a recovery run.

Recovery runs are only necessary if you run four times a week or more.

If you run just three times per week, each run should be a "key workout" followed by a day off.

If you run four times a week, your first three runs should be key workouts and your fourth run only needs to be a recovery run if it is done the day after a key workout instead of the day after a rest day.

If you run five times a week, at least one run should be a recovery run.

If you run six or more times a week, at least two runs should be recovery runs.

There's seldom a need to insert two easy runs between hard runs, and it's seldom advisable to do two consecutive hard runs within 24 hours.

Recovery runs are largely unnecessary during base training, when most of your workouts are moderate in both intensity and duration. When you begin doing formal high-intensity workouts and exhaustive long runs, it's time to begin doing recovery runs in roughly a 1:1 ratio with these key workouts.

There are no absolute rules governing the appropriate duration and pace of recovery runs.

A recovery run can be as long and fast as you want, provided it does not affect your performance in your next scheduled key workout.

In most cases, however, recovery runs cannot be particularly long or fast without sabotaging recovery from the previous key workout or sabotaging performance in your next one.

A little experimentation is needed to find the recovery run formula that works best for each individual runner.

Don't be too proud to run very slowly in your recovery runs, as Kenya's runners are famous for doing. Even very slow running counts as pre-fatigued running practice that will yield improvements in your running economy, and running very slowly allows you to run longer without sabotaging your next key workout.

Matt Fitzgerald is the author of several books on triathlon and running, including Runner's World Performance Nutrition for Runners (Rodale, 2005).

Common Running Injuries and Their Prevention: Beware, the Speed Work…

Article compiled from various internet sources and abridged by R. David Calvo, M.S., M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon, Houston, Texas. Dr. Calvo is an active age-group triathlete and author of Tri-Doc.com

Speed work in endurance sports is a valuable asset and enhances performance. However, it is not with out a price. As Andy Stewart and other coaches have espoused, it requires discipline and direction but has to be tempered with a healthy dose of restraint. In my practice the common denominator in running-related injury is a “change”. Whether it is “change” of shoes, “change” of terrain, or a “change” in training technique, it always involves “change”. Speed is one of those “changes” that “gets” runners. It should be approached cautiously and gently integrated into a running program well after a strong “base” has been established. Consult a qualified coach before joining a speed-workout group to make certain that you are ready for it.

Regardless of your stage of development in running you should be alert to and aware of some of the pitfalls that lie ahead. Running injuries are, to some extent, inevitable in most serious athletes due to the personalities involved. Most are over-achievers and focused on their success beyond the “cost”, or they simply feel too good to interrupt their activity and as they ignore aches and pains that normally would interrupt them in less enjoyable activity.

I have compiled the following information below utilizing a variety of sources published on the internet and have abridged that information to suit this short article. This is by no means an exhaustive treatise; however, it might serve as a stepping-off point for your own research toward understanding and preventing running injury.

The piriformis syndrome
The piriformis syndrome is a condition in which the piriformis muscle irritates the sciatic nerve, causing pain in the buttocks and referring pain along the course of the sciatic nerve. This referred pain, called "sciatica", often goes down the back of the thigh and/or into the lower back. Patients generally complain of pain deep in the buttocks, which is made worse by sitting, climbing stairs, or performing squats. The piriformis muscle assists in abducting and laterally rotating the thigh. In other words, while balancing on the left foot, move the right leg directly sideways away from the body and rotate the right leg so that the toes point towards the ceiling. This is the action of the right piriformis muscle.
Stretching the muscle often duplicates the pain. To do the piriformis stretch, lie on your back, and flex the right hip and knee. Now, while grasping the right knee with your left hand, pull the knee towards your left shoulder. This adducts and flexes the hip. In this position, grasp just above the right ankle with the right hand, and rotate the ankle outwards. This applies internal rotation to the hip and completes the stretch. Another way to do this stretch is to stand on your left foot and place the right foot on a chair, such that the right knee and hip are flexed at about 90 degrees. Now, using the right hand, press the right knee across towards the left side of the body while keeping the ball of the right foot on the same spot on the chair.
Another good piriformis/gluteal stretch is demontrated in below.
Anatomically, the piriformis muscle lies deep to the gluteal muscles. It originates from the sacral spine and attaches to the greater trochanter of the femur, which is the big, bony "bump" on the outside top of the thigh. The sciatic nerve usually passes underneath the piriformis muscle, but in approximately 15% of the population, it travels through the muscle. It is thought that acute or chronic injury causes swelling of the muscle and irritates the sciatic nerve, resulting in sciatica. Patients with an aberrant course of the nerve through the muscle are particularly predisposed to this condition.
The piriformis syndrome is diagnosed primarily on the basis of symptoms and on the physical exam. There are no tests that accurately confirm the diagnosis, but X-rays, MRI, and nerve conduction tests may be necessary to exclude other diseases. Some of the other causes of sciatica include disease in the lumbar spine (e.g. disc herniation), chronic hamstring tendinitis, and fibrous adhesions of other muscles around the sciatic nerve.
Once properly diagnosed, treatment is undertaken in a stepwise approach. Initially, progressive piriformis stretching is employed, starting with 5 seconds of sustained stretch and gradually working up to 60 seconds. This is repeated several times throughout the day. It is important that any abnormal biomechanical problems, such as over-pronation of the foot or other coexisting conditions, are treated. This stretching can be combined with physical therapy modalities such as ultrasound. If these fail, then injections of a corticosteroid into the piriformis muscle may be tried. Finally, surgical exploration may be undertaken as a last resort.
A good sports medicine physician with experience in caring for athletes with the piriformis syndrome can help direct appropriate management. With proper diagnosis and treatment, there is no reason for this syndrome to be dreaded.

Iliotbial Band Syndrome
The iliotibial band is a thick, fibrous band that spans from the hip to the shin; it lends stability to the knee joint, and is attached to muscles of the thigh. ITBS is caused when the band becomes inflamed and tender. ITB pain is always lateral or on the “outside” of the knee about an inch from the patella. It frequently occurs when shoes over supinate (bowleg) your knee or when you extend your running past your usual tolerance. Have qualified shoe expert check your shoes and consult a coach to adjust your training program. Stretching, ice and anti-inflammatory meds usually help but won’t replace insightful training, good biomechanics and proper shoe wear.

Pulled Hamstring
A pulled hamstring is a common sports injury, seen most commonly in sprinters. A pulled hamstring is a injury to the muscle called a hamstring strain. This can occur acutely from a sudden burst of speed or chronically due to repeated over-stress in submaximal efforts. Avoidance is the best choice by judicious increases in intensity, warm up and stretching. Treatment of a pulled hamstring is important for a speedy recovery and includes active rest including cross-training, ice and physical therapy.

Patellofemoral Syndrome
Also, called "Runner's Knee," problems associated with the patella, or kneecap, are common in runners. The term runner's knee may refer to several common injuries such as chondromalacia, patellar tendonitis, or generalized knee pain.

Depending on the diagnosis this is usually not a surgically treatable problem. Usually the disorders are non-surgically managed with rest, ice and anti-inflammatory meds and a modified/cross-training program.

Plica syndrome
Plica syndrome occurs when there is irritation of the lining of the knee joint. Part of the lining (synovium) of the knee joint is more prominent in some individuals, and can form a so-called plica shelf. If this tissue becomes inflamed, it can cause knee pain. The old RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation with the addition of anti-inflammatory meds) treatment commonly works for this but occasionally arthroscopic removal of the ”shelf” is necessary.

Shin Splints
Shin splints, like runner's knee, is a term that describes a set of symptoms, not an actual diagnosis. Shin splint pain can be due to problems with the muscles, bone, or the attachment of the muscle to the bone and is. It is critical to differentiate this from the next topic, Stress Fracture, usually accomplished by xary, bone scan or MRI.

Stress Fractures
Stress fractures of the hip are usually seen in long distance runners, and much more commonly in women than in men. Other stress fractures are rather commonly seen in the foot (metatarsals) and the leg (tibia and fibula) though more uncommon are stress fractures of the pelvis. These are painful sometimes vague injuries with radiation of the pain to other regions of the extremity. These injuries are sometimes seen in endurance athletes with deficient nutrition or eating disorders, but can occur in normal athletes who push the limits of their abilities and training state. Prevention is paramount and treatment is strict rest with some allowance for cross-training techniques. Sometime crutches or braces are recommended. When in doubt x-ray, bone scan and/MRI is worth the cost. The result of “completing a stress fracture into a full blown fracture can be costly and sometimes disastrous.

Achilles Tendonitis
Achilles tendonitis is a painful condition of the tendon in the back of the ankle with tenderness and sometimes swelling in the tendon itself. The cause is always overuse and over-stress (ask Andy about this one). Left untreated, Achilles tendonitis can lead to an increased risk of Achilles tendon rupture. Early treatment involves active rest and anti-inflammatory med, sometimes bracing and physical therapy. Rarely, in chronic conditions or rupture, surgery is necessary.
Arch Pain
Arch pain is a common foot complaint. Arch pain, also sometimes called a strain, often causes inflammation and a burning sensation under the arch of the foot. Treatment of arch pain often consists of a flexibility/stretching program for the toes and ankle, adaptive footwear and inserts.
Tips for Injury Prevention

Wear Proper Shoe Wear
1. Have your feet measured by a qualified salesperson.Many people jump ahead to trying on the shoes without checking the length and width of each foot. It is important to know to proper size of your feet and if your feet are slightly different sizes.
2. Shop for the larger foot.If your feet are different sizes, buy a shoe that best fits the larger foot. If you need, buy an insole to fill space in the other shoe.
3. Make sure the shoe fits your heel and your toes.The toe box should provide ample wiggle room, and the heel should not slip up when walking.
4. Go for a walk in the store.Make sure the shoe is comfortable for a short walk around the store--any pain is only going to be worse on a long walk.
5. Don't think a shoe will 'break-in.'This is a common misconception that shoes should be purchased snug so they can break-in. Wrong! Shoes should fit when you buy them.

Tips:
1. Stand up when measuring your feet.Do your footwear shopping towards the end of the day after you've been up and walking for a few hours. Under these conditions your feet will be slightly larger than in the morning. End-of-the-day shopping is the best way to buy footwear.
2. Remeasure your feet each time you buy new shoes.Measure your feet each visit as your shoe size can change over time. And never buy a shoe based on size alone--try them on!
Stretch Properly
1. Know your sport.Whether you're in the gym, on the track, or anywhere else, know what your workout will involve. Understanding which muscles will be worked is the only way to know how to best stretch out.
2. Focus on those muscles.While a good overall routine is helpful, your emphasis should be on the muscles that will be most heavily involved in your workout.
3. Warm up before stretching.Just some easy walking or a light jog will be sufficient to warm up your muscles, but it will make the stretching session much more valuable.
4. Begin slowly.You don't need to touch your toes right away--begin slowly and push yourself as your muscles loosen up. Stretching too much too soon can be painful and potentially harmful.
5. Hold the stretch.Once you feel your muscles reaching their limit, hold the position for a count of 10. Then push yourself a little further and hold again for a count of 10.
6. Don't rush your stretching routine.If you're going to have to cut your workout short, don't skip or shorten the stretching. This is more important than an extra set of reps or another half mile.
7. Do it again.Once you're finished working out, stretch again. Not only is it an excellent way to cool down from the workout, but this is the time that you will improve your flexibility the most.

Tips:
1. Don't bounce!You will get the best stretch, and prevent injuries if you avoid bouncing. Instead, hold the stretch, and feel a constant pull in the muscles.
2. Stretch both sides.Many people have a tendency to under-stretch the 'healthy' side after an injury. Use the same stretches, for the same amount of time, for both sides of your body.
3. Get professional help.Gym trainers, physical therapists, exercise instructors will all know great ways to stretch. When you're getting started, have someone knowledgeable watch your routine and offer their suggestions.

Crosstraining
Cross training is a great way to condition different muscle groups, develop a new set of skills, and reduce boredom that creeps in after months of the same exercise routines. Cross training as allows you the freedom to vary the stress placed on specific muscles or your cardiovascular system. After months of the same movements your body becomes extremely efficient performing those movements, and while that is great for competition, it limits the amount of overall fitness you possess and reduces the actual conditioning you get while training. Rather than continuing to improve, you simply maintain a certain level of fitness. Additionally, cross training is extremely helpful at reducing the risk of injury from repetitive strain or overuse.

The term cross training refers to a training routine that involves several different forms of exercise. While it is quite necessary for an athlete to train specifically for their sport if they want to excel, for most sports enthusiasts, cross-training is a beneficial training method for maintaining a high level of overall fitness. For example, you may use both biking and swimming each week to improve your overall aerobic capacity, build overall muscle strength and reduce the chance of an overuse injury. Cross-training limits the stress that occurs on a specific muscle group because different activities use muscles in slightly different ways.

Benefits of Cross Training:
Reduces exercise boredom
Allows you to be flexible about you training needs and plans (if the pool is closed, you can go for a run instead).
Produces a higher level of all around conditioning
Conditions the entire body, not just specific muscle groups
Reduces the risk of injury
Work some muscles while others rest and recover
Can continue to train while injured
Improves your skill, agility and balance
What exercises should make up a good cross training routine?

Cardiovascular Exercise (Think about adding three different exercises from the list below):
Running
Swimming
Cycling
Rowing
Stair Climbing
Rope jumping
Skating (inline or ice)
Skiing
Racquetball / basketball / other court sports
Strength Training
Calisthenics (push ups and crunches and pull ups)
Free Weights
Machines
Tubing and Bands
Flexibility (stretching, yoga)
Speed, agility, and balance drills
Circuit training, sprinting, plyometrics and other forms of skill conditioning

With cross training, you can do one form of exercise each day, or more than one in a day. If you do both on the same day, you can change the order in which you do them. You can easily tailor cross-training to your needs and interests; mix and match you sports and change your routine on a regular basis.

For more information and treatment of sports related injuries contact Dr. Calvo at 281-890-7773 or refer to www.tri-doc.com

Running Technique

Excerpted from article written by Mark Holroyd, exercise physiologist from BUPA's Bristol Wellness Center

Why is a good running technique important?

Running technique is a topic that few runners pay particular attention to, however it is essential for:

Economical running - Correct technique can maximize the economy of running by eliminating unnecessary movement and thus wasted motion. To put it simply, runners want all their energy to produce straight ahead movement, as opposed to side-to-side motion.

Minimizing the chance of injury - When we walk one foot is always on the ground, and our forward foot hits the surface with a force equal to approximately half our body weight. When running this force is much greater, as there is a non-contact phase when both feet are off the ground. During running the foot strikes the surface with a force greater than three times our bodyweight. A combination of correct running technique and using appropriate running equipment can help to reduce these landing forces and therefore the stress on our bones and muscles, minimizing the chance of injury.

So what is correct running technique?
With respect to running technique, the most important concept is to run tall and relaxed. Running tall is equivalent to running light, and this is essential for efficient running. Consider the following points when assessing your running technique.

Body Position



Technique drill
To develop a correct and economical running technique you can concentrate on the different components of the action by using a "technique drill". A running technique drill imitates technically sound running form, such as upright posture, proper carriage of the arms during the running stride and proper knee drive and leg action. It is performed slowly at first to allow you adapt to the correct running technique. Using a running technique drill has the additional benefit of helping to strengthen specific muscle groups that needed for powerful running, especially the muscles of the calves, shins, thighs and hips. The running technique drill outlined below involves marching (walking), which, once mastered, can be incorporated into your running motion.

Marching drill
The marching drill provides an excellent starting point for beginners who wish to focus on the basics of running technique. Marching is performed slowly at first, but progresses in speed as your balance and stability improve. This drill allows you to focus on maintaining an upright posture, coordinating the movement of your arms and legs and stabilizing your movement. Begin by walking slowly forward on the balls of your feet, making sure your heels do not touch the ground during this exercise. Use small steps, approximately 12 to 18 inches (30-46cm) in length.

Raise your right knee to hip level (so that your thigh is parallel to the ground) on each stride. Your right ankle should be directly under or slightly behind your right knee, and your right foot should be 'cocked' (toes pointing upwards). As your body passes over the left foot during the stride, rise on the toes of the left foot and extend the left knee. Hold your chin and trunk upright (think "run tall") and swing your arms slowly in rhythm with the marching stride. Repeat this action, raising the right knee to hip level with the left leg moving through a normal walking stride, for 50 meters. Repeat the drill with your left knee rising and the right knee moving through a normal walking stride.

Remember that this is a technique drill, so focus on proper posture, limb movement and whole body balance, and perform the drill in a slow and controlled way. After you have performed the drill with each leg marching separately, combine the marching action to incorporate both legs. This drill emphasizes a driving knee lift, upright posture and a coordinated arm swing, all essential components of proper running technique.

Timing
When performing the drill, do so at the start of your workout as opposed to at the end, because this is when your concentration and energy levels are at their highest. Performing the drill when you are fatigued can lead to a lack of concentration and poor technique. Remember that practice does not necessarily make perfect, but it will certainly make permanent. So focus on the correct technique when performing the drill, or you could end up reinforcing bad habits

Warm up

Due to the low intensity of the marching drill, it is ideal as part of a warm up because it will both warm up your muscles and focus your mind on proper running technique before your run.

Terrain
When practicing proper running technique and drills, perform them on relatively flat terrain. This will allow you to concentrate on running form more than if you were exercising at a higher intensity running up or down hill flexibility. The ankle, knee and hip joints undergo considerable flexion and extension during the marching drill. It is therefore important that the muscles surrounding these joints are supple, allowing the joints to have a wide range of motion. Before performing the drill, be sure to stretch, focusing on the legs (quadriceps, hamstrings and calves), hips and lower back.

What Does 'Periodization' Mean and How Does It Work?

Source: Mike Ricci

Preparation Phase
Base Phase
Build Phase
Peak Phase
Transition Phase

If you have ever wondered how the Russians were kicking our butts for three decades in sports, here is the answer. Yes, there were some Eastern Block women that looked like they could play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, ‘Steel Curtain’, and maybe that wasn’t natural, but the answer is something called 'periodization’. Tudor Bompa, who is considered the ‘Father of Periodization’ refined the ideas of Russian sports scientists in the early 1960s. During the 1940s the Russian scientists tried dividing the training year into different training periods. Previously, the training was to maintain the same constant stresses year round.

Could you imagine doing the same workouts week in and week out? The new method was to create some periods of training that were easier then the others to promote rest and to let the body grow stronger. Most training programs today are rooted off of Bompa’s theory, and its how the successful athletes of today train. Periodization involves many variables including frequency (how ‘often’ you train), duration (how ‘long’ you train for one session), volume (how ‘much’ you train in a given week or cycle) and intensity (how ‘hard’ you train at any given time). From these variables a recipe is created that will hopefully help you reach your peak for the key race(s) you are targeting. There are four to five phases in a given annual training plan, with the variables changing within each phase. Please see the following chart:

Preparation Phase

The first phase of training is called the Preparation (Prep) Phase. This is a period of time from three to six weeks. It involves performing your aerobic activities at a low heart rate and it helps your body adjust to the rigors of training again. This is also the time to work on your drills for each sport. This would include many of the drills in swimming, isolated leg pedaling in cycling and/or strides in running. The workouts in the Prep Phase are usually short in duration, low in intensity, and may be frequent. The volume for this cycle is low. This period prepares you for the Base Phase.
The Base Phase

The Base Phase can last anywhere from twelve to twenty four weeks. The longer this phase lasts usually means the more aerobically fit you are entering your key sessions for the season. The Base Phase runs in three to four week ‘blocks’, and can have up to six blocks within this phase. These would be called Base Phase Two, Three, etc. The amount of blocks you have in this phase is dependant on your training experience. If you are in your first few years of training, the more blocks you do in the base phases, the better off you will be in the long run. This phase continues to focus on increasing your aerobic capacity while improving your efficiency with drills and skill workouts. The intensity in this cycle remains low or non-existent, while the frequency may drop, and the duration of your longer workouts keeps extending itself. The volume in this cycle starts out low, but will eventually be your greatest of the year as you get closer toward the end of your base phase. After the Base Phase has been completed and you get closer to your key races, the next step is the Build Phase.

Build Phase

The Build Phase drops in volume, increases in intensity and may keep the same or drop off in duration. The key to this phase is to become more efficient (faster) at a certain distance or go further in a certain time period. This is done by adding ‘interval’ training to your workouts. These intervals can be repeats in the pool, on the track, or on your bicycle. In this phase, the volume is consistent, the intensity high, and your duration for your long workouts should be at an all year high. This phase lasts about four to eight weeks and comes right before the big race. Before we get to the big race, we do something called ‘peaking’.

Peak Phase
The Peak Phase and ‘peaking’ itself is a very tricky thing to do. Basically, you are trying to bring together your whole season for one or two important races. It could be the local triathlon where you need to beat your training partner, or it could be a qualifier for the World Championships. Either way, you want to perform your best. In order to peak for the race, we taper down our training. We cut back to let our bodies rest and restore itself. Our volume is low, our intensity is high, and our duration is short. Frequency for some is quite high, as some athletes like to keep their ‘feel’ for the water or keep their running ‘rhythm’. Others don’t have such problems and cut back the frequency as well. This is when training is personal choice. After your race, and hopefully successful racing season, you move into the final phase of the year, the Transition Phase.

Transition Phase

The Transition Phase is a time to just kick back, and do something other then triathlon. It can mean a time to do nothing for a few weeks, or it could mean the time of the year that you try out some new sports that don’t involve swim, bike, and run. Toward the end of this phase, you want to start organizing your plans for the upcoming season. A new Prep Phase will almost be upon you and you get to do it all over again.

Effective breathing in swimming

Effective breathing, while swimming, is all in the balance
Not getting enough air?

Extended arm sinks while taking a breath (elbow drops)?

Speed is sacrificed because of a “Pause” while breathing?

Difficulty breathing while navigating in a race?

Sucking in water while taking a breath?

Effective breathing, while swimming, is all in the balance The most common question I hear in the triathlete world about the mysteries of swimming efficiently usually involves something with breathing. In freestyle, it is the first step to get your body position right. Then, for many, you throw in breathing and everything goes haywire! This has to do with lack of balance, using your head instead of your core to breath, and a few other factors. Here are the top 5 challenges in learning how to breathe in freestyle, along with the remedies on how to get over these:

1. Not getting enough air? There are a couple of reasons this typically happens in freestyle. First, make sure you breathe out all of your air before you rotate to take a breath. When learning, some people try to exhale and inhale while they are rolling to the side for air. There simply is not enough time for this! Your exhalations should only be in the water in the form of bubbles. At first the timing may seem difficult, but eventually you will get used to it. Second, you may be sinking as you breathe. Make sure you are rolling to the side to breathe, and not rotating your head and looking straight up.

2. Extended arm sinks while taking a breath (elbow drops)? This is mainly a balance issue. While you breathe to one side, your other arm should be extending. For many swimmers, this extended arm pushes down into the water and they are sinking while trying to inhale. The side kicking and shark fin drills will also help to improve this. Another drill also discussed in the materials that will help with this challenge is the fist drill, which forces you to not use your hands, therefore improves your balance in the water.

3. Speed is sacrificed because of a “Pause” while breathing? A typical scenario is that you feel like you are cruising along just fine and then you take a breath and it feels like you have just lost all your momentum. To remedy this, when you breathe, concentrate first on breathing to the side (as in #1), then on having your mouth parallel to the water, instead of over the water. The latter will take a while to master, but once you do, it will take care of the pause, and improve your speed overall.

4. Difficulty breathing while navigating in a race You need to look up to see where you are going, and at the same time grab a breath. How can you do both? Start with bilateral breathing (breathing on both sides every 3 strokes). This will help you to see about where you are without lifting your head up as much. When you need to lift your head up to sight, try not to look straight ahead as this will make your hips sink and throw you off balance. Instead, take a quick peek at your target, roll to the side to breath, and bring your head right back down into position.

5. Sucking in water while taking a breath? In practice, this will sometimes occur because of #1 and #2 above. In a race, the waves may cause the inhalation of water instead of air (bilateral breathing will help here as well). The drills to practice to improve balance and avoid this unpleasant occurrence are the side kicking and shark fin drills, as well as the one-arm drill. To perform the one-arm drill, swim a full stroke with one arm while your other arm rests at your side. Breathe on the opposite side of the stroking arm. This is a difficult drill and takes some practice, but it will pay off!

For more details of Kevin Koskella’s effective breathing when swimming, read the new Successful Coaching.

Excerpted from:
SPORTS PERFORMANCE BULLETIN
The weekly newsletter for athletes and coachesIssue 16 - 18th April 2005

Nutrition for the Long Ride


After working with patients training for 100 mile-rides for several years and having done a number of century rides, the factor that I see causing the most problems is a lack of understanding regarding nutrition during training rides and races. The first thing to remember is that by the time you start to feel thirsty or hungry you are behind schedule for hydrating and eating.

Pre-Ride Meal
This can be a relatively small meal since the primary purpose it to fill up your glycogen stores that are depleted from the prior days training or last nights sleep. This small meal should consist of foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in fat and protein. Even if you just eat a bagel and drink some orange juice this can do the trick. If you currently don’t eat breakfast, I recommend starting off with a bagel or piece of toast and a small glass of fruit juice and see how that works. If your stomach can handle that and you don’t feel too full, add a small bottle of Gatorade or breakfast bar the next time. I usually eat while driving to the race or training so have gotten used to portable breakfast items like bananas, Gatorade or bagels. Oatmeal, yogurt and a banana with or without toast and peanut butter a couple of hours before the ride would be a luxurious breakfast. If have a particularly hard day planned, i would add some protein such as an egg or your favorite.

During the Ride
Set up a schedule that you stick to in regards to what to eat and when to it eat. How do you know what works for you? You experiment during your training rides. Besides getting your muscles and cardiovascular system trained for going a 100 miles you want to determine what energy your body requires for the ride and what you can tolerate and like the taste of. I think some of this comes from knowing what my body requires during these long rides. For most people the biggest need is going to be staying hydrated (water or sports drink), getting enough calories and keeping your electrolyte levels balanced.

Staying Hydrated
I try to stick to drinking at least one large water bottle per hour as a minimum and alternate water and sports drink. This rule of thumb of one bottle per hour is just a guideline. I recommend drinking every time you see someone else drink or drinking every 15-20 minutes. If this comes out to more than one bottle per hour and you don’t feel a sloshing in your stomach you should be okay. If you feel a sloshing or have to urinate more than once an hour you should cut back on your intake of fluids for about 15 minutes or so until you feel better.

Calorie Consumption
In order to ride 100 miles you are going to need to consume enough carbohydrates during the ride to maintain your glycogen levels and continue to burn fat as your primary energy source. The main source of energy for these long training rides should be fat, which is only utilized at heart rates that are below 85% of your maximum or your aerobic rate. Above 85% you are burning mostly carbohydrates, which your body has only limited amounts of. Once you consume all of your glycogen stores your muscles no longer have energy to contract and you “hit the wall” or “bonk”. Remember the phrase, “Fat burns in a flame of carbohydrates”. I partilarly like Lara Bars (220 calories), Power Bars (230 calories) and half-sandwiches of PB&J and occasonally gulp down a Crank e-Gel (150 calories)

What does this mean to you?
Start by eating something every hour regardless of whether it’s a solid food (sports bars, fig Newton’s, small peanut butter and jelly sandwich) or semi-solid food (gels). You will also be getting calories from your sports drink but the additional calories from the gels and bars will help. After you get used to eating something every hour, you can start to experiment with your eating intervals. The most common interval that I see people using are between 45 and 60 minutes between eating. So if you are taking in a minimum of one bottle of sports drink or water and some type of food per hour you will be off to a good start.

Electrolyte Balance
The reason for alternating between water and sports drink is so that you maintain your electrolyte balance. If you only drink water you could possibly “water down” your electrolyte balance and start to suffer from a lack of vital minerals such as potassium, sodium (hyponatremia, a potentially condition) and magnesium (These deficiencies are the most common cause of cramping). Having a sport drink that includes the basic minerals mentioned above you can help to maintain that balance. If you have a high sweat rate, you can also experiment with supplements such as electrolyte or salt tablets and eat foods that are high in sodium and other minerals. I sometimes will eat Beef Jerky or drink a V8 at gas stations to increase my sodium levels. Before experimenting with changing your sodium levels you want to check with your doctor due to the link between sodium and hypertension.

Sports Drink of Choice
I am currently using Gu2O as my sports drink due to the taste and high levels of nutrients that are contained within. I frequently mix up several bottles with different products to vary the taste and purpose: Gu2O (for electrolytes, hydration and carbs (if I am not eating early in the ride), Nuun (hydration and electrolytes if I am "eating" my calories) and, Endurox as the final recovery product because of it's protein content which assistis in the adsorption of carbs towrd the end of the ride. However, because of the availability of Gatorade and Powerade I occasionally end up using them if I am on a supported ride while training. I know that a lot of people use Ultima, Cytomax, Acelerade, Endurox or other concoctions and my opinion is that if you are using any sports drink on the market you should be okay. Your choice is going to be determined primarily by taste and the positive experiences that you have with your choice drink.

Study Cautions Runners to Limit Their Water Intake


NY Times
April 14, 2005
By GINA KOLATA

After years of telling athletes to drink as much liquid as possible to avoid dehydration, some doctors are now saying that drinking too much during intense exercise poses a far greater health risk.

An increasing number of athletes - marathon runners, triathletes and even hikers in the Grand Canyon - are severely diluting their blood by drinking too much water or too many sports drinks, with some falling gravely ill and even dying, the doctors say. New research on runners in the Boston Marathon, published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, confirms the problem and shows how serious it is.

The research involved 488 runners in the 2002 marathon. The runners gave blood samples before and after the race. While most were fine, 13 percent of them - or 62 - drank so much that they had hyponatremia, or abnormally low blood sodium levels. Three had levels so low that they were in danger of dying.

The runners who developed the problem tended to be slower, taking more than four hours to finish the course. That gave them plenty of time to drink copious amounts of liquid. And drink they did, an average of three liters, or about 13 cups of water or of a sports drink, so much that they actually gained weight during the race.

The risks to athletes from drinking too much liquid have worried doctors and race directors for several years. As more slow runners entered long races, doctors began seeing athletes stumbling into medical tents, nauseated, groggy, barely coherent and with their blood severely diluted. Some died on the spot.

In 2003, U.S.A. Track & Field, the national governing body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking, changed its guidelines to warn against the practice.
Marathon doctors say the new study offers the first documentation of the problem.
"Before this study, we suspected there was a problem," said Dr. Marvin Adner, the medical director of the Boston Marathon, which is next Monday. "But this proves it."

Hyponatremia is entirely preventable, Dr. Adner and others said. During intense exercise the kidneys cannot excrete excess water. As people keep drinking, the extra water moves into their cells, including brain cells. The engorged brain cells, with no room to expand, press against the skull and can compress the brain stem, which controls vital functions like breathing. The result can be fatal.

But the marathon runners were simply following what has long been the conventional advice given to athletes: Avoid dehydration at all costs. "Drink ahead of your thirst," was the mantra.
Doctors and sports drink companies "made dehydration a medical illness that was to be feared," said Dr. Tim Noakes, a hyponatremia expert at the University of Cape Town.

"Everyone becomes dehydrated when they race," Dr. Noakes said. "But I have not found one death in an athlete from dehydration in a competitive race in the whole history of running. Not one. Not even a case of illness." On the other hand, he said, he knows of people who have sickened and died from drinking too much.

Hyponatremia can be treated, Dr. Noakes said. A small volume of a highly concentrated salt solution is given intravenously and can save a patient's life by pulling water out of swollen brain cells. But, he said, doctors and emergency workers often assume that the problem is dehydration and give intravenous fluids, sometimes killing the patient. He and others advise testing the salt concentration of the athlete's blood before treatment. For their part, runners can estimate how much they should drink by weighing themselves before and after long training runs to see how much they lose - and thus how much water they should replace. But they can also follow what Dr. Paul D. Thompson calls "a rough rule of thumb."

Dr. Thompson, a cardiologist at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and a marathon runner, advises runners to drink while they are moving."If you stop and drink a couple of cups, you are overdoing it," he said. Dr. Adner said athletes also should be careful after a race. "Don't start chugging down water," he said. Instead, he advised runners to wait until they began to urinate, a sign the body is no longer retaining water.

The paper's lead author, Dr. Christopher S. D. Almond, of Children's Hospital, said he first heard of hyponatremia in 2001 when a cyclist drank so much on a ride from New York to Boston that she had a seizure. She eventually recovered. Dr. Almond and his colleagues decided to investigate how prevalent hyponatremia really was.

Until recently, the condition was all but unheard of because endurance events like marathons and triathlons were populated almost entirely by fast athletes who did not have time to drink too much. "Elite athletes are not drinking much, and they never have," Dr. Noakes said.
The lead female marathon runner in the Athens Olympics, running in 97-degree heat drank just 30 seconds of the entire race.

In the 2002 Boston Marathon, said Dr. Arthur Siegel, of the Boston Marathon's medical team and the chief of internal medicine at Harvard's McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., the hyponatremia problem "hit us like a cannon shot" in 2002.

That year, a 28-year-old woman reached Heartbreak Hill, at Mile 20, after five hours of running and drinking sports drinks. She struggled to the top. Feeling terrible and assuming she was dehydrated, she chugged 16 ounces of the liquid. "She collapsed within minutes," Dr. Siegel said.
She was later declared brain dead. Her blood sodium level was dangerously low, at 113 micromoles per liter of blood. (Hyponatremia starts at sodium levels below 135 micromoles, when brain swelling can cause confusion and grogginess. Levels below 120 can be fatal.)

No one has died since in the Boston Marathon, but there have been near misses there, with 7 cases of hyponatremia in 2003 and 11 last year, and deaths elsewhere, Dr. Siegel said. He added that those were just the cases among runners who came to medical tents seeking help.
In a letter, also in the journal, doctors describe 14 runners in the 2003 London Marathon with hyponatremia who waited more than four hours on average before going to a hospital. Some were lucid after the race, but none remembered completing it.

That sort of delay worries Dr. Siegel. "The bottom line is, it's a very prevalent problem out there, and crossing the edge from being dazed and confused to having a seizure is very tricky and can happen very, very fast," he said.

Boston Marathon directors want to educate runners not to drink so much, Dr. Siegel said. They also suggest that runners write their weights on their bibs at the start of the race. If they feel ill, they could be weighed again. Anyone who gains weight almost certainly has hyponatremia.
"Instead of waiting until they collapse and then testing their sodium, maybe we can nip it in the bud," Dr. Siegel said.

Caffeine amd Alcohol - How dehydrating?

The conventional wisdom is that caffeine and alcohol, the two drugs regularly consumed by most people, are dehydrating and should therefore be used with caution by athletes concerned with maintaining optimum fluid balance. Just how seriously should this advice be taken?
That is the question addressed by nutrition expert Andrew Hamilton in the latest Peak Performance, a special issue on hydration. And some of the evidence he unearths is quite surprising.

As far as caffeine is concerned, the news is good for coffee and cola-loving athletes, particularly as caffeine is now known to possess some useful ergogenic properties. Hamilton cites a series of studies that fail to demonstrate any significantly deleterious effects of caffeine on fluid balance.
‘When it comes to caffeine, the oft-repeated advice to cut out caffeinated drinks to boost hydration seems well wide of the mark,’ he concludes. ‘Not only is there scant evidence that drinks containing even moderate levels of caffeine exert a diuretic effect, but cutting out these drinks and not replacing them with at least an equivalent volume of non-caffeinated beverages would actually lead to poorer hydration.’

Unfortunately for fans of wine, beer and spirits, Hamilton advises a considerably more cautious approach to alcohol. By contrast with caffeine, the evidence against alcohol is quite damning, with study after study showing detrimental effects on hydration. A particularly scary finding was that blood viscosity (stickiness – a sign of dehydration) may remain raised even after fluid levels have returned to normal.

‘The evidence suggest,’ advises Hamilton, ‘that unless you consume very weak alcoholic drinks (2% by volume or less), alcohol should be completely avoided until you are fully hydrated. And because alcohol takes 36 hours to completely clear the system, athletes should refrain from its use for at least 48 hours before an event.’
Sports drinks or water?

That’s the key question addressed by Andrew Hamilton in his overview of the subject of fluid balance in the latest issue of Peak Performance Newsletter. In the end it all depends on your goal. Where hydration is your main aim, he concludes that plain water is okay, although low concentration (hypotonic) drinks and isotonic drinks are even better because they may be absorbed more rapidly from the intestine. But where energy replacement is top priority, he recommends more concentrated (6%-plus) sports drinks, which deliver a powerful carbohydrate punch, although they are less efficient for hydration.

Weight Training for Triathlon:

Adaptation Phase: Weeks 1-3 The first part of the program is a high-rep, low-weight phase that serves to prepare joints and tendons for the harder work to come. For each exercise, do one set of 12-15 repetitions. You should choose an amount of weight for each exercise that leaves you feeling like you could have done 2 or 3 more reps with good form. You'll be ready to move to the next phase when you feel like you need to increase the amount of weight to still have only 2 or 3 reps left in you. [Note: If your regular exercise routine already includes weight training, you may choose to skip this phase, and begin with the Endurance Phase of the program.]

Endurance Phase: Weeks 4-10 The next training block is the weight-room equivalent of the endurance athlete's long, slow cardiovascular workouts. Choose a weight that will allow you to complete 2 sets knowing you could have done 2 or 3 more reps before failure. Do 12 to 15 reps for each exercise, increasing the weight by 5 percent each week for the upper body and 10 percent for the lower body. Don't rush the sets; use two counts up, and four counts down for each rep. Allow approximately 30 seconds rest between sets. If you have specific strength or racing goals, this phase can last from anywhere from 5 weeks to 3 months. Many triathletes use this phase during the entire off-season for strength maintenance, increasing the weight as necessary.

Power Phase: Weeks 11-14 The key to the Power Phase is to split the core exercises into two groups. One consists of those that work the lats and triceps (lat pulldowns, dumbbell pullovers, triceps pushdowns, and upright rows). The other is made up of exercises that work legs, chest, and biceps (squats, leg extensions, leg curls, bench presses, biceps curls, and back extensions).The idea is to increase the intensity, or "power" of one group of exercises on Day 1 (see the Table) by adding an additional 20 to 30 percent to the load over what you would use in the Endurance Phase, and doing sets of ten, eight, and six repetitions, respectively, going to failure on the final rep of each set. Be sure to allow three to four minutes of recovery between powered exercises. The other exercises done on Day 1 are done the same way you would do them in the Endurance Phase (2 sets of 12-15 reps each with 30 seconds of rest between sets). On Day 2 you do some of the exercises you did as Power on Day 1 using the Endurance Method and do the ones you did in endurance fashion as power exercises. Some exercises do not need to be done in "Power" fashion, although the choice is always yours.For example, you perform lat pulldowns on both Day 1 and Day 2. On Day 1 you perform them in sets of 10, 8, and 6 using a heavy enough weight that you fail at rep 10, 8 and 6 respectively. On Day 2, you would perform two sets of lat pulldowns for 12-15 reps each, using a weight which you know you could lift for two to three more reps, but you stop at 12 or 15.

Chisel Phase: Weeks 15-16 During these final 3 weeks, return to lighter weights, about the same as those you used at the start of the Endurance Phase, and do two sets of 12, lifting on a two-count, and lowering on a two-count. Pause with the weight at the top of the lift, making sure not to let the weight bottom-out on the other end. In other words, the exercises should be done fast but not sloppy. Failure in this phase comes from the speed of the exercise, not the amount of the weight lifted. Keep form good, making sure you still have one or two reps in you at the end of the second set. Ideally, you should take 30 seconds rest between sets, but if you need more, like about 1 to 2 minutes take it. I like to wear a heart rate monitor for this purpose. When it drops to a point just below 60 percent of our max, we start the next set.Finally, the program recommends that you add five hard minutes of abdominal exercises to every session, no matter what phase you're in. Mark suggests that you not overdo the ab work, noting that if you become too chiseled, it can restrict breathing during endurance activities.Follow each workout with stretching.That's it; pretty simple really, especially for those folks coming from a strength training background. Remember, however, that these workouts are IN ADDITION to the triathlon-specific swimming, running and biking workouts.As for our personal approach, while keeping each weight training session to no more than an hour, we've added in a few of our longtime favorite exercises, and occasionally include those calculated to aid with a particular weakness.For instance, we both love doing deadlifts, and have modified our program to include them. However, we now do sets of Romanian deadlifts, rather than the standard sort. Romanian deadlifts, are done with lighter weights, in sets of reps repeated without returning the bar to the ground, as opposed to the standard variety where the bar is placed back on the ground between reps.We also do eccentric pull-ups and chin-ups as well as the ladder routine, and routinely include military presses for our shoulders. Because of a particular biomechanical weakness, we will sometimes add focused adductor and/or abductor exercises as well. The key is to keep the total workout within one hour, and to perform the additional exercises in a manner consistent with the current phase of the rest of the program. Many triathletes will follow a strength program only in the off-season, but we've found that we benefit from following ours year round. We repeat the phases in order, usually leaving out the Adaptation Phase after the first cycle, unless we've taken more than a couple of weeks off from lifting. We drop back in weight for the Endurance Phase, though not as low as the previous time in that phase, and increase incrementally each time. The only time we take off completely is for about three weeks prior to, and about two or three weeks immediately following, an Ironman

Running Economy and the Vagaries of Endurance Training
by Tad Malloy

If you had one method of training and one method only, it would be the type of training you do during your base phase. The physiological benefits are tremendous and it greatly reduces your risk of injury and increases the continuity of your training. Mitochondrial proliferation which enhances your ability for energy conversion, capillarization for greater endurance, muscular/skeletal adaptation and strength to hold up to the rigors and impact of training, and weight loss for efficiency are just some of the benefits derived from your base training. Actually 96% of your potential Vo2max can be achieved from your base training alone. Many times with my older athletes I focus on base training alone with only minor deviations to the other phases of training. By doing this I can ensure that they remain healthy and improve through continuity. However, if you’re mentally and physically ready to “push the envelope” then let’s move onto the next phase.

Running economy is probably the most neglected aspect of training. In fact, most of you probably thought we were getting ready to move onto fast and hard interval workouts or tempo training above or at your anaerobic threshold. A lot of hard-core athletes will chafe at these economy workouts because they will feel too easy. It is my belief that most athletes perform too fast during workouts because of the mistaken belief that they will not benefit from a training workout unless it hurts really badly afterwards. I believe that high intensity runs and rides should be saved for the final periods before competition and that training should proceed in a moderate progressive manner.

An economical athlete is one who burns modest amounts of oxygen at a given pace. An uneconomical athlete consumes large amounts of O2 at the same pace. Obviously, every athlete would like to be more economical because it would mean that desirable paces would seem less strenuous (running, biking or swimming at a lower percentage of your vo2max). Thus, it is possible and also very common for a runner with a Vo2max of say 73 which is very high (milliliters of oxygen consumed per minute per kilogram of body weight) to be beaten in a race by another athlete with a Vo2max of 60. How can this be? Well, the runner with the vo2max of 60 strides more economically thus is consuming only 50 milliliters of oxygen per kg of body weight running at say a 5:30 per mile pace while the runner with a Vo2max of 73 consumes 61 milliliters of oxygen per kg running at the same pace. Both are running at 83% of there respective maximum Vo2’s matching stride for stride and similar feelings of exertion, but one because they are more economical and the other because they were gifted with a high Vo2max. Recently, during a Vo2max/AT testing session I conducted we were fortunate to witness economy in motion with a couple of my athletes. Autumn Ray was testing on the treadmill and had built her speed to a 6:40 pace with 3 % elevation while consuming 64 milliliters of oxygen per minute. Interestingly, when we increase her pace to 6:20 per mile at the same elevation there was no corresponding increase in oxygen consumption. That’s efficiency! I observed when we increased her speed, a subtle increase in her stride length, which because of her elasticity, flexibility, relaxed form, balance and economy training required no additional energy expenditure. Further increases of course did and she eventually topped out at a Vo2max of 74 but remember her economy is what gives her the ability to run a certain pace at a given percentage of her Vo2max. Another good example of economy was Chris Woelfel testing on the bike. Chris has trained methodically and consistently to increase his efficiency at high cadences (94-100 rpm). Utilizing high cadences allow him to improve his endurance and conserve energy on long rides. Smaller muscle contractions require less energy but if your not trained to be neuromuscularly economical at these high cadences then muscle fatigue will set in. During the test, in an attempt to inch closer to his Vo2max, the physiologist helping with the test increased the workload by increasing the gear ratio and resistance. Observing Chris’s very large major muscle groups the quads, glutes, and hamstrings the tester assumed Chris would generate more wattage with a powerful pedal stroke, even as the cadence decreased. Chris seemed to be laboring, in my opinion pre-maturely, at 380 watts, so I recommended to the tester to decrease the resistance and allow Chris to efficiently stroke at the higher cadence ranges, at which he had diligently trained. By doing so Chris was able to sustain his effort and gradually push his wattage output into the 400’s, then 500’s and eventually maxing at 570 watts which would equate with his Vo2max. So his economic pedaling technique and form enabled him to sustain his effort longer, and lowered the percentage of his vo2max he was working at for any given wattage.

Efficiency or economy is determined in part by genetics, age, training and altitude, as is your vo2max. However it is also determined by other variables such as your neuro-muscular firing of the muscle, stride length, stride frequency, calf length, leg length, leanness, overtraining, shoe weight, wind, clothing and terrain. So, in this next phase what can you do to improve your efficiency on the run and the bike? First of all, you should allocate at least 6 weeks and preferably 8 weeks to your base/economy phase. It is really an extension of the base training with specific economy workouts injected for each discipline three times in every two weeks. The majority of your mileage on either the run or bike should still be done at a comfortable aerobic pace or about 60-65% of your Vo2max, if you know it. The economy workouts should account for no more than 5 % of your total weekly mileage. So if you are running 25 miles per week only 1.25 miles or less would be economy drills and if you are biking 70 mile per week only 3.5 mile would be economy drills. Once again and very important, continue to do all other mileage at a comfortable aerobic effort. Be patient, you need to be ready for the hard workouts when it is time and, if you are over trained or damaged goods before you get there, they will do you no good. I like to follow some basic rules whether performing economy drills on the bike, the run or the swim. First the recovery from each effort should always be a full recovery. Generally the recovery should be 4 to 5 times as long as the effort. Second you should perform no more than 12 repetitions for a given drill in any one workout. Thirdly, whenever performing the drill you must always stay relaxed and maintain proper form. If you start losing form, tightening up or struggling you should abort the effort. The duration of the effort should start at 20 seconds and not exceed 90 seconds. We limit the duration so you can continue to remain relaxed and hold form while not producing any muscle fiber damage, which could inhibit the benefits of your base aerobic training. While performing this repetition training on the run, bike or swim you should not be sprinting at maximal velocity but rather progressively increasing your pace through out your effort until by the last 10-15 seconds you are at about 90% full speed. The long recovery should allow you to begin your next effort fully recovered and thus maintain your economy of motion. Runners are different in their mechanics and sometimes the most awkward looking runner can actually be quite efficient. The main thing you need to focus on is relaxation with quicker turnover and stride length. It may help to perform the drills once and awhile on a slight downhill. A sample workout would be to perform a 6-mile run but after the first easy warm up incorporate 10 x 30 sec running economy drills in which you’re building your speed through out the effort all the while remaining relaxed. Try to lengthen your stride slightly while increasing your turnover rate. Your shoulders should be relaxed and dropped and your body posture in a neutral position. Sometimes it helps to think about relaxing your jaw, as this tends to help relax the rest of your body. Make sure before you begin the next hard effort that you feel fully recovered. In the example above this would probably be about 2:30 minutes. Running is really very simple so don’t make it too complex. You can vary the number of repetitions and the duration within the guidelines but it will only be beneficial if you can maintain your form and efficiency. Bounding drills are also very beneficial in improving economy as well as yoga or advanced dynamic stretching. On the bike I suggest working at high cadences between 100 and 105 rpm’s in fairly easy gearing. As your fitness improves you can increase your gear ratio but not until it becomes comfortable. Recover at slower cadence ranges from 75 – 85 rpm. Concentrate on the perfect circle while keeping your sole in contact with the pedal the entire stroke thus contributing to the net wattage the entire stroke. Since you are in an easier gear you will have a bit more ankle flexion. You must always maintain good neutral posture in the saddle and maintain hip, knee, and ankle alignment with the pedal. On the bike it is productive to perform these drills both on down hills and up hills but you must maintain form and keep your cadence high and always take full recovery. Drills out of the saddle can also be incorporated into the program but for no longer than 30-second duration. Another drill, which I like to do, is to vary cadence ranges within the hard economy portion of the workout as well as the recover. The goal is to maintain a certain effort, or preferably wattage read out, if available to you, within efficient cadence ranges from 88 rpm to 100 rpm. So, during an 80 second biking economy drill you may try to maintain say 375 watts or whatever is appropriate but every 20 seconds vary your cadence using your gear ratio to help maintain the same 375 watts. During the 80-second effort you could try to maintain perfect circles during your stroke at 88, 92, 96 and 100 cadences. By so doing your can zero into your most efficient gear ration by observing how your HR reacts. Also this will allow you to become efficient at various gear ratios so you can vary muscle groups during long or hard rides. You can continue this pattern during the recovery portion as well but would probably want to extend the duration at each cadence level. All other mileage should be performed at an easy aerobic pace. Follow the same basic rules for your swim economy workouts in regard to frequency, pace and duration. It may help to on occasion to also incorporate other strokes into your set.

After 6-8 good weeks of base/economy you are finally ready to move into your race preparation stage if you so desire. Actually with the training you have already done you will find you can compete quite well. However, if you want to increase that Vo2max another few percentage points and cut seconds off your pace per mile then it is time to move on. Oxygen consumption capacity workouts and anaerobic threshold workouts via tempo are your next challenge as you move closer to your first racing peak.

Good luck, I hope you can take something from this article and apply it so to make your training more productive and maybe enjoyable as well.

Tad Malloy
Triathlon Coach, Houston

TRI-DOC Wisdom Exchange

Tri-Doc.Com and RaceWell

This is the inaugural post of a project aimed at providing information and experience that is directly applicable to athletes participating in multisport endurance events. Selected articles and personal contributions will be reprinted and published here and will be regularly updated to provide an ongoing dialogue. Every attempt will be made to keep the subject matter readable and pertinent to the intended audience. A forum is available for give-and-take and for feedback to make Tri-Doc.Com a valuable tool, reference source for your training and to help you RaceWell. Thank in advance for your interest and constructive contributions to Tri-Doc.Com and to RaceWell.

Dr. David Calvo