220 Triathlon August 2017

Take a look at your calendar. Find your A-race. I’ll bet that it’s written in permanent marker, with a big circle around it and maybe the odd star or arrow for added emphasis... Now focus is great and for many races, this single-mindedness can be crucial. But over the last couple of months, I’ve also learnt how important it can be to adapt to change, too. When I discovered an injury was going to keep me out of the ÖtillÖ race I had planned, it hit me pretty hard. After some reflection though, a plan was hatched to still go and race the shorter distance. The result? A fantastic race, instead of a weekend at home sulking. I hope you hit all your 2017 goals – but if not, stay…

WEYMOUTH COURSE TIPS Targeting the 70.3 in Weymouth this year? Then get some extra help from our course guide and coaching tips on p27. You’ll smash the seafront run and soon be tucking into a post-race ice cream! ENERGY GELS ON TEST This issue has a real focus on nutrition. Turn to p49 for our big feature on fuelling for every distance, then head to p71 to see which energy gels we rate highest for taste, consistency and value. TIME-CRUNCHED TRAINING Worried that you’re too short on time to train? Work getting in the way? We hear you... Turn to p94 where we show you how to train for an Olympic triathlon in just 6 weeks, with shorter sessions.…

We take gear testing seriously – you need to know that the kit you buy will help you reach your goals in all three disciplines and work as hard as you do on race day. Our test team is made up of experienced triathletes, cyclists and runners who test each product that appears in 220 to the max during training and racing, rating it honestly for performance and value. JAMIE WILKINS A handy time triallist and road racer, Jamie is the former deputy editor of Procycling and a fiercely analytical reviewer. August goals It’s the year’s big one: the UCI Masters World Championships Road Race in France. JACK SEXTY A serious triathlete since blowing his student loan on a bike, sub-2hr Olympic-distance athlete Jack moved up to Ironman last year…

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Recent research from Australia suggests it might be worth switching to lightweight racers before the season ends. Sixty-one trained runners gradually increased the amount of running performed in either a race shoe (138g per shoe, drop of 5mm) or a conventional shoe (333g, heel drop 9mm) over six weeks until they’d reached around 35% of normal weekly run mileage in either shoe. The results showed that the minimalist shoe group improved 5km run time-trial performance by an additional 21.1secs over the conventional shoe group, as well as improving run economy. Key to the improvement, said lead author Joel Fuller, was that 35% benchmark, with previous studies reporting increased lower limb pain and injury risk for runners switching to more than 50% of weekly running in minimalist shoes over 12 weeks.…

“As athletes look for ever-easier tests, races have little choice but to comply” TIM HEMING Cutting through the spin of tri to address the issues that matter, Tim is also a sports journalist for The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun. “One of the biggest problems with long-distance triathlon is the quest to go faster,” claims Australian coach Brett Sutton. Rather than being counterintuitive, the mentor of Nicola Spirig, Daniela Ryf, and formerly Chrissie Wellington, is lamenting that as athletes look for ever-easier tests to chase PBs, commercially-minded race directors have little choice but to comply. “The dismantling of great races as participants get caught up in the folly of faster times is a negative for our sport,” Sutton continues. “One tries to educate athletes that time is…