Innehållsförteckning för September 2020 från 220 Triathlon

Recovery is big business, but how effective are these interventions when you lift the marketing lid? It’s a question that Dr Thimo Wiewelhove sought answers to by having 46 runners complete a half-marathon followed by active recovery, cold-water immersion, massage or passive recovery. Jump height, muscle soreness and perceived recovery were measured 24hrs before the run, straight after and 24hrs further along. Blood markers of fatigue were also measured. The results? There was a disconnect between the objective and subjective with the physiological markers of fatigue showing no impact from either intervention. On a perception level, however, the athletes reported feeling fresher after both massage and cold-water immersion. And they felt worse after winding down with active recovery. The take-home? Massage and cold-water look the better strategies, albeit studies show…

“HALFWAY INTO MY SIX-MONTH PROGRAMME, MY LONG RUNS WERE TWO HOURS. MY MILEAGE PEAKED AT 36KM FOUR WEEKS FROM RACE DAY” 01 What analysis did you do of the Ironman UK run course? Did you replicate it in your training? Bolton’s run course is pretty straightforward – a mostly flat route with 380m in total elevation and no more than 40m at any one point. Given it was a lapped course in a less than scintillating location, though, it was set to be a mental challenge. So, my training took in repetitive urban sessions, build-up races that included laps – like the Immortal Half – and weekly visits to the track from week 11 onwards to add some interval efforts while building mental resilience, too. 02 What were your longest…

PLAN YOUR MEALS The UK Ultimate’s pre-race pasta party was sold out and I was left with the nearby Dog and Bull pub. Pasta wasn’t on the menu so I had gammon steak and chips, which might explain my digestive issues the next day. I should’ve made sure I’d some food to hand for post-race, too. The burger van had shut by the time I crawled across the line at 10pm and I was left with a half-eaten bag of cheese Doritos as my post-race reward. DON’T FORGET THE RENNIES I spent days deciding what trisuit and trainers to wear for the race, but the key things I regret not putting on my transition mat could’ve been bought from the petrol station outside the hotel. Enter Rennies and flat cola.…

Based on the teachings of the psychobiological model of fatigue, fatigue is a central brain perception, based on the sum of the sensory feedback from the legs, lungs and heart which triggers our brain to slow us down and prevents us from reaching complete exhaustion and hurting ourselves. This feedback varies depending on the specific exercise sport or adventure. It was found that: ‘The mechanisms of fatigue vary depending on the specific exercise stressor… and fatigue varies with the type of exercise.’ This is why it’s not enough to be mentally and physically tough with a superhuman ability to tolerate pain and fatigue. You also need to be strategically strong to identify this sensory feedback (resulting from that specific activity) and manage it before your body and brain shut down.…

MORE ADMIN You’ll be required to complete pre-race questionnaires, also used for the government’s track and trace. VIRTUAL RACE BRIEFINGS Log on for the preamble, rather than congregating before the start. FEWER SUPPORTERS Limit the individuals you bring to the event to those necessary for logistics. MORE SPACE IN TRANSITION Enjoy the relative luxury of being racked further apart. TIME-TRIAL STARTS You’ll be set off individually and must stay at least 2m apart at all times – even during the swim. SWITCH OUT THE SWIM Organisers are asked an offer an alternative to the traditional first leg given many triathletes have not had the opportunity to swim. LONGER DRAFT ZONES All racing will be non-drafting, with 10m zones up to standard distance and 12m beyond. SELF-SUFFICIENT Don’t rely on aid…

90+ % BUY NOW A GENUINE CLASS LEADER 80-89 % IMPRESSIVE ONE OF THE BEST YOU CAN BUY 70-79 % GOOD A DECENT PERFORMER 50-69 % AVERAGE IT’LL DO THE JOB WELL ENOUGH 0-49 % POOR SIMPLY PUT, DON’T BOTHER! HELEN WEBSTER 220’s editor is your go-to for women’s multisport kit. MATT BAIRD Has spent years testing tri kit and accessories for 220. JACK SEXTY A strong age-grouper focusing on top-end gains. JAMES WITTS He’s a published author writing about sports science.…

MAX EFFORT (RPE 9–10) Redlining. Things are getting very difficult at this level. You can barely breathe and are struggling to speak. At the top end, it feels almost impossible to keep going. VIGOROUS (RPE 7–8) The pain cave. Your activity is starting to become uncomfortable. You’re short of breath, but can speak a sentence. In short, it’s getting tough, but you can carry on. MODERATE (RPE 4–6) Adding some load. Things are starting to become more challenging. You’re having to breathe harder, but not so much you can’t hold a conversation. EASY (RPE 1–3) A ‘go all day’ effort. Light activity, which at the lower end takes hardly any exertion and towards number 3 is still easy enough that you feel like you could maintain it indefinitely.…

When running at incrementally faster paces, we generate an increasing amount of lactate, eventually reaching a pace or intensity which our body can’t sustain. This is our lactate threshold and it basically dictates how fast we can run. If we want our 5km or 10km time to be faster, increasing our threshold should be a major focus of our training in the weeks before a competition. While simple, this sort of session can be mentally and physically tough, so needs to be inserted into training carefully. Even in pre-competition phases, no more than about 15% of your weekly running should work on threshold, and you should only include it in a session when you’re fresh enough that injury risk is reduced. To reduce the risk further, be specific with the…

In my former life, I was a bodybuilder and used creatine. Would you recommend this supplement for triathlon? It’s a good question, especially as creatine’s flirted with triathlon for decades. There’s strong evidence that creatine, in pill or powder form, can maximise strength gains, so could be useful especially for the bike. Many vegetarian triathletes also take it as it’s commonly found in red meat. Just note that some athletes report cramping, while it retains water and so adds weight, meaning any potential gains could be lost on the climbs. What’s a fartlek? Fartlek means ‘speed play’ in Swedish and is a type of interval training. Often, these run sessions will be unstructured so, if you’re in a group, one of you might call out to sprint to the nearest…

U.S. brand Quintana Roo were one of the first tri wetsuit brands back in the eighties. It’s been some time since they’ve had wetsuits on these pages – in contrast to their bikes – but now they’re back with a two-strong range of new neoprene. Seen here is the HydroSix (the not-dissimilar £479 HydroFive is featured in our bumper wetsuits test starting on p53), the top-end suit of the two and made entirely of high-grade Yamamoto 39 and 40-cell neoprene throughout. Features include SCS Nanocoating for boosting hydrodynamics and QR’s own ‘Sensory Catch and Feel Panels’ that aim to give the swimmer more purchase on the catch phase of the stroke. QR’s big sell is that it’s made with a total number of 27 seams – compared to 35-60 seams…

The Netflix documentary Athlete A delivers a disturbing insight into the toxicity of USA Gymnastics following more than two decades of child abuse that took place at the hands of team doctor Larry Nassar. The 56-year-old received jail terms totalling 360 years in 2018, the court cases made more poignant by the testimonies of 156 survivors. To see it retold through their eyes not only highlighted the atrocities of Nassar’s crimes, but also how USA Gymnastics failed these women. It showed how easily a lauded national federation, one that revels in its trove of Olympic gold, belies a reality of harbouring serial abuse. With the pressures of reputation, sponsorships and jobs to uphold, priorities were warped, others became unforgivably complicit. “Those in positions of power need to find the strength…

“To everyone in our community, your swimming form will come back, as will your fitness and motivation” INSPIRED BY POSITIVITY I just wanted to write and thank you for the article by Alex Ryland [in issue 378, June]. After having run on and off for the last few years, I should have been spending today at Blenheim Palace, taking part in my first ‘proper’ triathlon [rescheduled for 12-13 September 2020]. I had plans to do a couple more events during the summer. Obviously, all of that’s been put on the backburner while we await to see if anything will remain of the 2020 calendar. Over the last few months I’ve found it hard to maintain motivation, with no concrete goal to aim at and no idea of when I’ll be…

SET REALISTIC GOALS After deciding what event you want to enter, start to build your framework around that race. Give yourself enough time to prepare properly and calmly. Use shorter races along the way to judge or improve your form. Let the training and racing decide what your realistic goals should be. Don’t get too obsessed with specific numbers, paces and time splits. Let the body decide what you’re realistically capable of doing, not what you think the body should achieve. BE FLEXIBLE Many triathletes have ‘Type A’ personalities, which is great until they need to compromise. I was obsessed with keeping everything on track in my training no matter what. That was a big mistake. Things happen that are sometimes out of our control. I agree with having an…

Endless swims. Cold waters, rough tides and storms. Jellyfish attached to his face. That home-made neoprene face mask. The bananas. Endless bananas… These are just a few of the things we remember from Ross Edgley’s epic Great British Swim, which in 2018 saw him become the first person to swim the entire circumference of the British Isles. Many said it couldn’t be done, but with humour, grit, a steadfast boat crew and chunks of his tongue dissolving in the saltwater, he proved them wrong. Now Edgley has written a book, The Art of Resilience, which details the story of the Great British Swim and the sports-science lessons that made it possible. Here, 220 shares an exclusive extract. Over to the man himself… It’s 7.00pm on 3 August 2018 and we’re…

When you are stressed by an external force, it’s not the force itself that troubles you, but only your judgement of it. Once you understand this, you can learn to accept the uncontrollables and practise the art of acquiescence to achieve your goal. You might have to learn to fight or dance when tackling an external force. But that force might be totally unpredictable: some days you might need your dancing shoes, whereas on others you might have to wear your boxing gloves. For things you cannot change, adopt a noble spirit, bear up bravely and tune in to nature’s will.…

“We’re at an exciting time for our sport with people able to get back on to the start line from 25 July. I know how much lockdown affected plans for training and competition. We set out from the start to prioritise people’s health and well-being. We believed that comprehensive guidance and regular communication were important to let our community know what we were proposing after each change the government made. “We contacted the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on numerous occasions to ask for clarity on the position for outdoor sports like ours because we believed the guidance wasn’t clear enough. We got the support we needed from the DCMS and were excited to hear the government’s announcement on 9 July. “Our teams have worked tirelessly to…

As our special report on the return of tri shows (see p40), the 2020 UK race season is finally nearly upon us. And with it a mad scamble to get some open-water hours under your race belt and, possibly, a new neoprene outfit for the occasion. With the European tri season running later than ever before (hello, Ironman Portugal on 7 November), a wetsuit will be essential for late-season warmth, as well as their confidence-, buoyancy- and speed-boosting abilities. Following on from issue 379’s top-end test, this delayed Buyer’s Guide features 20 suits from £99 up to £500. Top age-groupers Adam Leitch and Kelly Stokes will be your mid-range guides, looking at the tech on offer, performance in the water and how they compare to the £250-500 ensemble. Analysing the…

While arguably more inspiring than pool sessions, open-water sessions still run the risk of being a little bit boring. And the problem is that if they become boring, you tend to slip into one-pace mode and just plough round. And when that happens, the benefits quickly drop off a cliff. So how do you reinvigorate your efforts? One proven way to mix them up – especially for longer efforts – is to have a watch with a countdown timer or alarm set to go off at intervals. The other option is to roughly count your strokes. For example, set your watch for your 200m race split – or goal race time – and do intervals as you might on a running track. So if your target race pace is 1:30mins…

Covid’s been a stressful time for all of us. It’s also shone a light on existing issues and, not to make light of the situation, for many that’s meant an increased focus on open-water swimming to improve a hereto limiting opening leg. You see, there’s usually only a small minority of triathletes that have experienced swimming at the highest level when younger, and so when it comes to training for a triathlon the majority need to relearn how to swim efficiently. To make things more challenging, most triathlons are in open water, not in a pool, with its confidence-inducing lane ropes, clear water and the chance to stop every 25m. In short, swimming outdoors is a very different beast. Over the next eight weeks, this training plan will help you…

1 The Pembroke Sprint and Olympic Tri is run by the Guernsey Tri Club on 16 Aug and will be held on the northern coast of Guernsey. guernseytriathlon. com 2 Breca Swimrun Jersey (5 Sept) offers two multi-swimming and run distances to attempt, with both the 53km and 20km editions boasting rocky outcrops, relentless tides and some of the Isle’s best coastline. brecaswimrun.com 3 Super League Jersey is set for 19-20 Sept in St. Helier. The mixture of formats aren’t just for elites, with age-group Sprint and Enduro races taking place. superleague triathlon.com 4 Also in St. Helier is the Accuro Jersey Triathlon (11 July 2021), billed as the most southerly tri in the British Isles. Three distances are available, as well as a junior race. jersey-triathlon.com…

UNDER £1.35 VOOM POCKET ROCKET £1.35 The texture’s akin to a frozen energy gel and we like it. Each bar delivers 150cals from raw cane sugar and glucose. Plus there’s 150mg caffeine and 2g beta-alanine for stimulating and buffering duties. voomnutrition.co.uk UNDER £1.40 HIGH5 SLOW RELEASE £1.37 This moist, tasty blueberry and raspberry bar contains 151cals with 92cals deriving from oats, dried fruit and isomaltulose. Cashew nuts elevate the fat content to over 40cals with the remainder coming from protein. high›ve.co.uk UNDER £2.50 33FUEL AMORE £2.49 33Fuel’s products are expensive but that’s down to the quality ingredients including maca, an Andean root purportedly good for endurance. Each delicious bar’s split into two with a mighty 265cals overall. That’s 172cals from carbs and 76cals from good fats so ideal for long-course…

“I know I’ve been to those dark places before. I know I can cope” I’ll be taking on a triathlon- based ultra endurance challenge, doing the full length of the UK. So myself and fellow adventurer Frankie Tinsley will cycle from Land’s End all the way to John O’Groats – and on the way concurrently swim the length of the largest lakes in England, Scotland and Wales, and run to the top of the highest peaks in each, too. You could do that comfortably in 30 days, but we’re trying to do it in 14 days. To give you an idea, an average bike day will be 160 miles and the swims will range from four miles across Lake Bala to 10 miles on Windermere and two 12-mile swims across…

01 @wonderclinic First proper coffee in an actual, real-life cafe for four months. Great 30th birthday brunch, starting with a giggle from Brunty. 02 haveringtri Good news this week – British Tri have confirmed that swim, bike, run events and activity can resume in England! Open-water swimming at Grangewaters and club run sessions are already being held in a Covid-19 secure manner and we’re looking forward to recommencing our club cycle rides once all our safety checks and procedures are in place! 03 @celebsuett Quick cycle home before CrossFit tonight and could not be more wet. 04 @becksywecksy Celebrated getting old at the lake! Another most lovely swim in the sunshine. 05 @bkr_bex Feet have taken a pounding over the last 10 weeks of virtual competition. Foot-spa time! 06 @fitbreak7…

Tell us how your diet changes on the approach to race day? Probably the best tip anyone gave me about Ironman was to cut out fibre for 48hrs before the race. I’d previously struggled with diarrhoea and abdominal cramps, particularly on the run, but this advice was a game-changer for me. Any key things you eat in the build-up to your race and the night before? Starting the Friday before a Sunday race, I cut out any high-fibre foods and move on to a ‘white diet’: white rice, chicken, tuna, white bread, chocolate and ice cream. Basically, I avoid anything with a high fibre content. I’ll always have a pizza on the Friday night. The Saturday night before the race I’ll have white rice with tuna or chicken, followed by…

UK ULTIMATE Date June 2021 Location Whitchurch, Shropshire Bike course elevation 584m THE LAKESMAN Date 20 June 2021 Location Keswick, Cumbria Bike course elevation 1,350m IRONMAN UK Date 4 July 2021 Location Bolton, Greater Manchester Bike course elevation 2,362m THE OUTLAW Date July 2021 Location Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham Bike course elevation 904m IRONMAN WALES Date 12 September 2021 Location Tenby, Pembrokeshire Bike course elevation 2,450m…

All endurance athletes should spend time training their stomachs. According to research, ‘The gastrointestinal tract plays a critical role in delivering carbohydrate and fluid during prolonged exercise and can therefore be a major determinant of performance.’ A normal human stomach is about the size of a small American football. At its biggest, it stretches about 15 per cent but competitive eaters can expand their stomachs to two to three times their normal size. The gastrointestinal tract plays a critical role in delivering carbohydrates and fluid during prolonged exercise. A stomach of steel can therefore be a major determinant of performance.…

RUDY PROJECT THE WING £351.99 Will the countless hours of R&D make The Wing fly on the roads? The Wing is the brand-new tri/TT lid from Rudy Project, the result of a huge R&D effort undertaken with the celebrated aerodynamicists at Swiss Side wheels to hone aerodynamics. Weighing 390g on our scales, they say it’s spent countless hours in the wind tunnel along with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) testing, and the geometry profile is suited to multiple head positions. The downfall of long TT helmets for tri is that they require you to hold a specific position to benefit fully. That’s why the tail on Rudy’s previous Wingspan TT helmet has been replaced by a large rear port to maximise airflow, which also gives it a more rounded, stubbier appearance…

At this time of year, we’d usually be trying to fit in training sessions around races. That’s not happening but, as triathletes, we’re used to being flexible. So with hopefully a little more time on our hands to train, we can spend it on ‘sharpener sessions’. These are really refinement efforts as they’re not going to build too much fatigue and are really just the cherry on the top of your performance cake. Short micro-intervals, which we’ve outlined in this month’s session, are great for keeping your fitness topped up. The 20sec intervals are hard enough to develop the neuromuscular pathways required for perfect pedalling but aren’t so hard as to cause excessive fatigue. The 40sec recoveries, meanwhile, aren’t quite enough because you’re still climbing, so you’ll improve your lactate…

NICK BEER Early run pain Nick is a sports injury rehab specialist, a development coach and a former elite triathlete. He has a BSc Hons in biomedical sciences. BRAD BEER Treating a bone stress injury Brad is the founder of POGO Physio, author of You Can Run Pain Free! and the physio for Super League Triathlon. JOHN WOOD How to store a wetsuit An award-winning multisport coach of 10 years, John is also a former international swimmer. NIK COOK Riding a tri bike vs road bike Cycling writer Nik is a competitive multisporter who’s competed for Team GB in duathlon.…

SHORT-SLEEVED TRI-SUITS Comfort is key for all levels, so consider pads, grippers and material quality. Full-length zippers are also handy for mid-race toilet stops. 2XU Perform Full £130 Performs very well on both the bike and run thanks to top-quality fabrics. Issue 378 2xu.com RACESKIN Funky Skull £135 Great visuals and zip guard, and best suited to shorter distances. Issue 378 raceskin.co.uk ZOOT Ltd Tri Aero Tokyo £170 Great style for a good all-round tri-suit that should suit all distances. Issue 378 zootsports.co.uk TRI-FIT Evo £179 Comfort, aerodynamics and features… a standout suit for all distances. Issue 378 tri-fitathletic.com ZONE3 Lava Short Sleeve £190 Very comfortable woven fabrics and excellent temperature control. Issue 378 zone3.co.uk ENERGY GELS Carb and caffeine content, added extras (such as electrolytes and salts), digestability, and,…

‘A’-RACE The most important race of your season AGE-GROUPER Non-pro triathlete (most of us!) AEROBIC Aerobic exercise involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body ANAEROBIC How much energy your body can produce without using oxygen BILATERAL BREATHING Breathing every 3 strokes when swimming BONKING Running out of energy mid-race or training session BRICK SESSION When you ‘brick’ two disciplines together, e.g. bike & run CARB-LOADING Eating a carb-heavy meal prior to a race to boost energy CATCH The part of the swim stroke where you pull on the water DNS/DNF/DQ Did not start/Did not finish/ Disqualified DRAFTING Hitching a ride on someone else’s slipstream in the bike or swim DUATHLON Usually a run/bike/run format ELITE Another word for a ‘pro’ – e.g. the Brownlees HIT High-intensity training HRMAX Your…