Triathlon Blog

Gray Rollins wrote a short guide to running shoes:

Running Shoes

Having a good pair of running shoes is an important factor to making the sport enjoyable. The correct pair of running shoes can prevent injury and make your foot feel comfortable. Choose the wrong shoes, however, and the opposite can happen. If you want a great way to prevent injury, spend some time to choose the right shoe.

Specialty Stores For Running Shoes

It may be worthwhile to visit a store that specializes in providing running shoes. The staff is trained to help you find the right pair of shoes for your stride and the way you place your foot. They watch you walk and run and select a series of shoes that correct any problems. You can also tell them about any nagging injuries you may have. They will use all of these factors to recommend good shoes to you.

Choosing Your Own Running Shoes

If you can’t find a specialty store, you can easily go through that process yourself. By looking at your old shoes and analyzing your footprint, you can determine what type of foot you have. Once you do that, you will want a shoe that will help provide extra support to compensate for these problems.

If you overpronate, you tend to place extra stress on the inside portion of your feet when you walk and run. If you are a supinator you tend to place extra emphasis on the outside edges. A normal pronator has a footprint that is evenly distributed and has a healthy arch.

Different Brands and Styles

There are a lot of different running shoes out there. At first glance, choosing one can seem overwhelming. But, once you try a few on and understand what kind of foot you have, the process is much simpler. The key is to understand exactly what you need to choose the best running shoes. Look at several different styles. Try them on with proper socks and run with them. How do they feel? Choose the ones that feel the best.

What Kind of Running?

You will need different shoes depending on if you run on the trails or run on the street or on a track. Trail running requires extra support and traction. Some sporting goods stores don’t even carry trail running shoes so you will need to find outdoor sports stores or visit a specialty running shoe store to find what you need.

Replace them Often

The key to good running shoes is to replace them often. Each time you run, the padding gets warn down. In general, you need to replace your running shoes several times over the course of the year, especially if you run all the time. This will help prevent injury and make your runs more enjoyable.

About the Author: Gray Rollins is a featured writer for TheRunnersGuide.com. To learn more about how to buy running shoes and the how often you should replace running shoes, then please visit us.

Gregory De Villiers wrote some swimming safety tips for open water swimming. I took notice of the article, because I train in a pool, so I do not have safety knowledge in open water.

Swimming in open water can make a pleasant change from the mind-numbing lengths of a swimming pool. Instead of the claustrophobic feeling of being enclosed in a swimming lane, you have a sense of freedom in the open water. Any large expanse of water will do, whether it is the ocean, a lake or a dam. Open water swimming is great fun if you’re training for a triathlon, iron-man competition or if you’re just wanting to stay in shape and improve your stamina. It is important not just to enjoy your swim, but also to swim safely! Here are a few tips for swimming in open water:

1. Don’t just take the plunge, especially if the water is cold. Your body has to adjust to the water temperature gradually. If the water is cold… below 65degrees Fahrenheit, you should wear a wet suit. A swim cap and earplugs help to keep your head warm. Ear plugs also guard against earache and infections. Ease yourself into the cold water and start with a session of around 15 minutes the first time. You can then gradually increase your time in the water with each swim.
2. Upon leaving the cold water after your swim, take your wet suit off, wrap yourself in a towel, have a warm drink and dress warmly. Your body temperature drops quicker in water and you need to get warm again.
3. For safety purposes, never swim alone. Always take a “swimming buddy” or join a swim club and swim together in a group. In the open water, potentially dangerous situations can arise. There are unknown elements such as currents, boats, seaweed and fog which you may have to negotiate. If you have a buddy or group, there is someone to help you if you get into difficulty.
4. On hot sunny days, especially if you have fair skin, apply waterproof sunscreen at least 20 minutes before your swim. Your skin can burn quite badly in the water if you don’t take the necessary precautions.
5. If you wear spectacles, consider prescription swimming goggles or daily disposable contact lenses with non-prescription goggles over them . In the open water, it is important to see where you’re going and to look out for any boats.
6. Swimming goggles come in various tints. Use blue lenses for cloudy days and dark lenses for bright, sunny days.
7. Beware of fog. It’s easy to lose sight of the shore and get lost in dense fog.
8. If a lightning storm is brewing, don’t swim. This is one electrifying experience you want to avoid!
9. Chaffing can be a problem, especially in salt water. Rub petroleum jelly over areas of friction if you are prone to chaffing.
10. Be careful of becoming entangled in seaweed when swimming in the ocean.Try not to kick when in seaweed as it tends to wrap around your legs. Alsotry to stay high in the water.

By following these practical tips, you can ensure that your open water swim is both an enjoyable and safe experience. Swimming is a great way to keep in shape. Get into the water and have some fun! Just remember the old adage “if in doubt, get out.” (More great swimming and diving tips can be found at: www.swimmingsafety-tips.com)

In the following article, Richard Pettinger offers some cycling training tips:

1. Have a clear Goal in Mind. If you have clear goals of what you would like to achieve in the season it helps to structure your training. For example if your goal is to complete the Etape du Tour you will need to make sure you build up a good base fitness to be able to comfortably ride 110 miles. If your target is the national 10 mile Time trial championship the hours you spend on a bike will be not as important as the intensity of training.

2. Be focused in training. When we train we should not just mechanically churn out the miles. It is important to have a good attitude to training, we should feel a sense of enthusiasm and positive energy. Often the important thing in training is not the time we spend or the miles we complete, the important thing is the intensity and attitude which we do our training.

3. Give equal priority to rest and training. When we rest or have a recovery ride we should feel this is just as important as the most intense intervals. It is rest and recovery rides that make our interval training more successful. If we feel we only make progress by hammering ourselves we will be likely to over train.

4. Train with other people. At times we need to train on our own, especially for a targeted interval session. However at other times it is good to train with other people. If they are of a similar standard we will be inspired and encouraged to go out even when we are not too motivated.

5. Have a plan, but be flexible. It is good to have a training schedule. This will help us to have a certain discipline, however if we are too rigid we may force ourselves to go on a longer training ride when it is better to rest.

6. Listen to the signals of your own body. A coach can give good advice but sometimes the best judge of how you are feeling will be yourself. Through experience you will learn when you can go hard and when it is time to pull back.

7. Make training interesting. Some people are able to follow scientific schedules for interval training on a turbo, I admire their dedication. However personally I would rather do intervals by climbing real hills. There is a greater sense of achievement and training feels more rewarding. It may be more difficult to stick to exact prescriptions of heart rate zones e.t.c. however I don’t think this matters too much. It is important to enjoy training, if training is too scientific and prescriptive it can be quite intimidating. This piece of advice may depend upon individual preferences.

About the Author: Richard Pettinger is a member of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team and competes in UK time trials. In 2005 he finished 4th in the National 100 mile TT Championship, his favourite discipline is hill climb races.

Sri Chinmoy CT website: http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/cycling

Thomas O’Leary wrote an article about how to refresh your running:

Are you feeling a little stale about running at the moment? Is it hard to remember what is so exciting about pushing yourself physically? This happens to all of us at some time. Sometimes it is because of an end of season back-off in training, or maybe because it is because of overtraining or an injury. Whatever the cause, at some stage in your running, it is inevitable that you will find a temporary drop in your normal motivation.

There are any number of ways to re-kindle your motivation, but the easiest I can think of is to return to one of the basic benefits of running.

Many of us start out running because of the basic health benefits, but this motivation is often quickly replaced by other “higher” motivators like self actualization or camaraderie or even good old competition. When things go a little stale, though, one of the easiest ways to get back into a healthy, internally motivated headspace is to return to the beginning.

What is it that attracted you to the health benefits of running? Is it that you can gain and keep a healthy body weight while not trying to live on lettuce leaves and water? Is it that you can charge your way through the day with increased endurance, mental sharpness and strength? Is it that you are able to operate at a higher level in most other active pursuits as a result of your running? Or is it that you can simply go about your day to day life without being held back by the physical limitations that most people take for granted?

To see a vivid illustration of these benefits in the real world, I like to watch a set of stairs in a busy train station or shopping centre. I see people climb the stairs and watch their condition when they have reached the top.

Bearing in mind that most people will avoid climbing stairs like they were taxes, only the fit, brave, stupid or extremely lazy (couldn’t be bothered looking for a lift) will climb the stairs in the first place. Then out of those few who dare to ascend under their own steam, you will see some spectacular displays of struggle and hardship. There will be gasping and coughing as someone struggles to get enough oxygen through a poorly conditioned cardio vascular system. There will be someone who travels so slowly that they cause a traffic jamb as they attempt to carry way too much weight around their middle up the stairs. Then there will be someone else, who, though spindly in body structure, hasn’t got the strength to climb without dragging on the hand rail. Or if they have the strength, they don’t have the energy or endurance to fight gravity for more than the first flight of stairs before taking a break. Then there are the rare few who bound up the stairs, often 2 or 3 at a time, with a casual and relaxed smile on their face. Not smug or conceited, but just enjoying the benefits of their chosen lifestyle. Of these people you can often see clues to their secret if you look closely. Does the man you see have shaved legs and an unusual tan line? He is probably a cyclist. Does the woman have stronger arms and shoulders than you would expect? She is probably a swimmer. What shoes are they wearing? Expensive top of the line runners are often fashion shoes but light weight trainers can be one of the signs of a runner or triathlete. These are just the telltale signs of sporting involvement and they don’t mean very much except they do explain why these people are able to run the stairs that beat most other people at a walk. They are athletes and they are enjoying their bodies. They work hard at their condition and they can fly as a result.

However these athletes are the rare exception. More often I see the all too common, symptoms of what some would call the down ward spiral of the human physical body. While some of us are persistently and carefully conditioning our bodies, the vast majority of the developing world is going backwards. More and more of our daily lives are spent motionless at a desk or in front of a television or computer. Less and less of our time is spent doing anything active, let alone actually training our bodies. The result of this level of inactivity is plainly displayed at my very unscientific stair watching laboratory.

Now there are plenty of reasons why people have difficulty climbing stairs, and I’m making it out to be a simpler equation than it really is, but one thing is for sure. A basic benefit of running that I enjoy is the ability to cruise up stairs without missing a beat. As a result of my running, I can walk all day, carrying a heavy load (like a child on my back), run for the train, stand up during a long commute, help someone else with their baggage and still have the energy left to bound up the stairs out of the train station and jump on my bike to ride home. Now this doesn’t make me a super human, but it does make me a useful, capable and healthy body powered by a sharp, relaxed and productive mind.

I have been a runner for so long now that I don’t know what I would be like without running, but seeing how so many people struggle to get by, just climbing stairs I am not willing to find out. If running means that I can enjoy this healthy lifestyle, then I will run. If I am lacking motivation, I can look at how many non-runners struggle with daily activity, and then…hey presto…there is my motivation.

About the Author: Tom O’Leary is an Australian author and runner, currently living in Tsukuba Japan He recommends a carefully balanced mix of work, rest and play in order for runners to achieve their goals. If you enjoyed this article there are plenty more at http://www.runningmonkeys.com

Ben Greenfield wrote an informative article about how to conduct your own lactate threshold tests:

Lactic Acid Threshold (LT) is the highest highest intensity at which the body can recycle lactic acid as quickly as it is produced. Anaerobic metabolism, or the burning of sugar by the process of glycolysis, is slow enough that lactic acid, the substance that makes muscles burn during hard exercise, does not accumulate faster than it can be removed. At this intensity, you are working very hard, but can still maintain exercise because lactic acid levels in the blood and muscles are steady, not increasing. Increasing the intensity just slightly causes lactic acid to build up and brings premature fatigue and delayed recovery. Training near LT decreases the amount of lactic acid being produced and increases lactate removal at a given output. At this intensity, the fast-twitch fibers can be trained to produce less lactic acid and the slow twitch fibers can be trained to burn more lactic acid, both of which raise the LT and allow you to produce more force at a higher heart rate.

Since lactic acid levels are controlled, recovery from this type of training is quicker than from other high-intensity training methods, therefore LT training has the best cost:benefit ratio of any type of training. When you experience “rubbery leg” syndrome, a marked increase in breathing difficulty, and a general full body burn, you have reached the point where lactic acid accumulates at a faster rate than it can be removed, which will rapidly decrease your ability to maintain a steady effort. At this point, your body cannot inhale oxygen or expel carbon dioxide at a fast enough rate to allow for sufficient aerobic metabolism or lactic acid buffering.

The best way to determine your LT heart rate is via a lab test, in which blood lactate levels are collected during exercise. However, based on the clear signs that occur in your body when you are at or very near LT, you can approximate your personal LT without spending money on a lab test. Due to the varying muscular demands of each skill, your LT will change depending on whether you are swimming, cycling, or running, so I recommend an LT test for each. Based on where your LT lies in each sport, you will be equipped with the knowledge to train at the highest intensity that is possible (without overtraining). When you reach your LT heart rate during a training session, you will know to back off, so that the body bounces back for the next day’s session.

Exercise researchers have found no perfect LT field test, but here is an example for each skill. You’ll need a HR monitor or very accurate carotid/radial pulse for the running and cycling tests:

Swimming: Since monitoring heart rate during the swim is difficult, this is the one test that will produce a “pace” LT rather than a heart-rate LT. Warm-up with a 4×50 swim and kick. Starting slowly and gradually increasing pace, swim 1000 yard/meters at a constant pace and as close as possible to a race pace effort. Basically, you should be swimming at the fastest possible *steady* pace you can maintain for the entire distance. Divide by 20 for your average 50 pace and by 10 for your average 100 pace. These will be your approximate paces for any LT workouts.

Running: Warm-up with a 10-15 minute jog. Then, on a flat course or track, run a 30 minute time trial, following the same pace recommendations as the swim (steady and fast). Record your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes. This will be your LT heart rate for your run workouts.

Cycling: Warm-up with 10-15 minutes of light cycling. Following the warm-up, cycle for 8 minutes as steady and fast as possible up a slight hill (2-3%), at 80-100RPM. Record your average heart rate during the climb, then rest 3 minutes (or descend). Repeat 1x, and record your LT heart rate for cycling as an average of your two 8 minute climbs.

Finally, remember - although LT intensity training is useful as a way to train intensely with a lower risk of overtraining, there is still significant fast twitch muscle fiber damage during hard efforts. Depending on your fitness levels, I do not recommend more than a two back-to-back days of LT training for the same skill (swimming, running, or cycling). But ideally, at this point in the triathlon season for most athletes, you should be increasing the number of LT workouts for every sport each week, while gradually decreasing the volume of your base training.

For more coaching tips and online training options, visit www.pacificfit.net

Ben Greenfield runs Pacific Elite Fitness at http://www.pacificfit.net, an online portal for personal training, triathlete coaching, and free fitness and multi-sport advice. He resides in Liberty Lake, WA, where he works as director of sports performance for Champion Sports Medicine, a training and testing lab for athletes. Ben graduated from University of Idaho with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sports science and exercise physiology, and is certified as a personal trainer and coach by the National Strength & Conditioning Association. Ben also offers individualized personal training, multi-sport coaching, training program design for athletes, lifestyle wellness and diet advising, and corporate consulting for workplace fitness programs. To learn more, visit http://www.pacificfit.net or e-mail Ben at elite@pacificfit.net