Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2017 i Triathlon Plus

ISSUE 100 / JAN-FEB 2017 Subscribe today SEE PAGE 86 It’s nearly Christmas, which can only mean staying in the warm eating mince pies and downing mulled wine, right? Of course not, we’re triathletes and we won’t let cold weather and festivities get in the way of our training. We’ve been busy testing a dozen turbo trainers, so you can bring your bike sessions inside when the weather is too lousy to venture out. But we’ve also tested six of the best over shoes to keep your feet dry and warm when you do hit the road. If the cold and wet has dented your motivation, read our top tips from Newcastle Tri Club on how to head off lethargy before it strikes (TZp5). Plus coach Phil Mosley has put…

WRITE TO: TRIATHLON PLUS, KELSEY MEDIA, CUDHAM TITHE BARN, BERRY’S HILL, CUDHAM, KENT TN16 3AG triathlonplus.ed@kelsey.co.uk WRITE IN AND WIN A LAZER Z1 AERO HELMET LETTER OF THE MONTH First time Ironmen THIS IS ONE of my favourite photographs - me and my fouryear-old son, Matthew showing off our medals after an epic weekend in Copenhagen. I’d just completed my first Ironman, aged 32, while Matthew had taken part in Ironkids – his first ever race. As you can see we’re both incredibly proud of our medals and each other. (We also wore matching MDot transfer tattoos on the back of our legs). I only got into the sport by accident last year. I’d turned up to the swimming pool 10 minutes before the public session finished and the local…

“Ironman Barcelona is known for its fast course, making it the ideal setting to beat the existing world record” I first came across the remarkable Haseeb Ahmad in late 2014 when I answered a plea to help blind runners. Haseeb had plans to run a sub-three hour marathon in London and gave me a crash course in guiding – sometimes literally – on a frosty playing field in Oadby, Leicestershire. After a stress fracture put an early end to his 2015 season, we finally ran the streets of the capital in April. A spent force by the finish, Haseeb was sitting in a wheelchair in the medical tent when he told me of the audacious blind Ironman world record attempt. “For that one, Has, you’re going to need a proper…

ISSUE 100 / JAN-FEB 2017 PHIL MOSLEY Coaching Editor Phil is an Ironman Certified Coach with 20 years experience. His race CV includes top-10 Ironman 70.3 finishes, several national age-group titles and an 8 hour 55 minute Ironman. He runs the triathlon coaching business myprocoach.net, where he writes a popular fortnightly training advice blog. GEMMA SAMPSON Gemma is a Registered dietitian with the Health and Care Professions council and an accredited sports dietitian with Sports Dietitians Australia. She’s a keen triathlete and is currently studying for an MSC in sports nutrition at Liverpool John Moores University. Gemma also recently joined Healthspan Elite as an ambassador for their range of high quality vitamins and supplements. GUY KESTEVEN Guy Kesteven has been testing bikes and components professionally for 18 years, and was…

THERE WERE celebrations all round when double gold medal winner Alistair Brownlee was named Olympic Athlete of the Year at the British Triathlon Awards 2016. The only Olympic triathlete to top the podium on two occasions scooped the evening’s top accolade, presented to each of the 33 Olympic governing bodies to bestow on their top Olympic athlete. On receiving the award, a delighted Alistair said: “This year was all about the Olympic Games, so to achieve that goal was fantastic and this award is just the cherry on the cake. It’s the end of a very tough four years and it was always in my head to have a decent bit of time off now. “I’m not thinking too much into the future, but just enjoying the achievements before I…

WHAT IRONMAN MALAYSIA WHEN 12 NOVEMBER 2016 WHERE LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA Elite results After eight hours of racing over 140 plus miles, it’s always thrilling when an Ironman race comes down to the wire. Ironman Malaysia was one of those events, with racers battling it out on a swelteringly wet Langkawi island. Just 33 seconds separated the men’s winner, Swede Fredrik Croneborg, from runner-up Thiago Vinhal (BRA). It was a win that delighted the crowds; Croneborg is almost a local after falling in love with Asia several years ago and deciding to live in Thailand permanently. He has been a regular figure on the growing Asian Ironman scene, chalking up wins and podiums over the 70.3 distance to add to runner-up performances at Ironma Malaysia and Ironman Taiwan last year. However,…

BUFF HEAD WEARS Stay warm and stylish on winter training runs with this reflective hat and neck muff from Buff. Available in a host of colours, there’s one to suit every triathlete this winter. from £21 buffwear.co.uk CAMELBAK LEAK PROOF MUG There are times during winter training when only a piping hot drink will hit the spot. This non-spill mug from Camelbak keeps drinks hot for more than six hours and the self-seal opening allows for one handed sipping. It’s not designed as a cycle bottle, but the 470ml version fits snugly into a standard bottle cage. £32.99 camelbak.com B&O PLAY A1 Liven up a turbo session or group training with this Bluetooth speaker. Dust and splash resistant, it is ultraportable, has 360° sound and the battery lasts up to…

TIP: On a long bike or run take Medjool dates filled with almond butter If you’re like most athletes, you’ll be looking for every advantage you can get to enhance your performance and gain the extra edge over your competitors. Diet should not be overlooked or even underestimated in its capacity to not only improve your health but enhance your performance. A plant-based diet will do both – and more. “The less energy spent on digestion, the more energy you’ll have,” says Brendan Brazier, former professional Ironman triathlete and head of nutrition for Garmin-Sharp Pro Cycling team. Following this thinking, a plant-based, whole foods diet allows you to get maximum return on your investment. By eating foods that are high in energy and easily digestible, we get the most value…

Triathlon is considered by many to be the ultimate endurance sport. Combining three disciplines even so called sprint distance races require a great feat of endurance. In the months and weeks leading up to race day a fourth discipline enters the fray: nutrition. If the right nutrition practices are not implemented, training adaptations can become blunted, the immune system depressed and fatigue can set in. All of this means that even making it to the start line can become a challenge. TWO MONTHS TO RACE DAY “Focus on real food,” says Team Sky Performance nutritionist Nigel Mitchell. “Sports supplements are exactly that. Get the basics right first then turn to supplements for help. Look to achieve a minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and try to…

Notes and key The Race List AT THE TIME of going to press, some race details were yet to be confirmed. Before entering a race, or if you can’t find your favourite event here, please contact the organisers for the most up-to-date information. Distances given are: for triathlons, swim/bike/run; for duathlons, run/bike/run; and for aquathlons, swim/run. Swim distances are in metres up to 999, then kilometres. Bike and run distances are in kilometres unless otherwise stated, with ‘M’ denoting distances are in miles. FIND A RACE LISTINGS PROVIDED BY FINDARACE.COM 11 DECEMBER 2016 VELOPARK CHRISTMAS CRACKER CHILDREN’S DUATHLON Stratford, London Distance: TriStart: 400m run, 800m bike, 200m run; TriStar: 600m run, 3km bike, 600m run; TriStar 2: 1.2km run, 5km bike, 600m run; Tristar 3: 1.6km run, 8km bike, 600m…

NEW GEAR PUT THROUGH ITS PACES 1 MADISON SPORTIVE £19.99 madison.co.uk A zipper up the back, plus an elasticated strip across the bottom of the foot both help with the easy pulling on of these covers. Robust panels are located at the toes to prevent you from wearing through them, but we’ve used more sturdy overshoes and aren’t 100 per cent convinced of the durability of these toe panels. The fleece-backed lining keeps feet warm, and although the seams are stitched, rather than taped, we experienced no leakages. OVERALL 2 VELOTOZE £16.99 velobrands.co.uk Once you’ve got your head around the slightly fiddly method of putting these over your shoes, you’ve experienced the only minus to these affordable and hugely effective shoe covers. There’s no zip, instead they use compression to…

ABOUT THE CLUB Newcastle Triathlon Club (NTC) first began as a group of friends interested in triathlon, and for a few early years it was a small club with small ambitions and limited experience in triathlon. But as experience grew, its reputation for being a friendly club soon spread with the club now boasting more than 300 members. In spite of its growth in both volume and success in competition, the club has always strived to avoid becoming being elitist, and ensures every member is offered the same level of help and opportunity to take part in whichever event the club sets its sights on. They have home grown members that now compete at the highest level, including Julia Matheson (World age-group duathlon champion), Ian Smith (world age-group sprint triathlon…

If we’re honest everybody suffers lack of motivation to train from time to time. It’s often experienced during the winter months when there is no sunshine to tempt you outdoors, and training sessions can become monotonous, uninspiring and sometimes even daunting. So what can be done to overcome this? If you’re not already experiencing this, it’s good to anticipate the likelihood of it happening to you, so that it doesn’t completely take the wind out of your sails. It’s usually easier to maintain training momentum than to build it back up from a standing start. If you are already in this situation here are some recommendations to get yourself going again. 1 TAKE A BREAK It’s not rocket science, but it’s often overlooked. Take a week or two off training…

So much recommended triathlon training is focused, specific, and often intense that athletes can be forgiven for not appreciating the benefits of high volume, low intensity sessions. Such training has been the primary building block of most successful cyclists, so why not triathletes too? A sociable and manageable ride in good company makes a pleasant change from typical training sessions and winter is the ideal time to incorporate such rides into a training plan. Time passes quickly and the end result should be a good volume of training and a smile on your face. SO WHAT IS STEADY (LOW INTENSITY) TRAINING? Generally speaking, an intensity below 80 per cent of functional threshold heart rate (60 per cent of maximum heart rate) or 70 per cent of functional threshold power can…

SHAKE IT UP Substitute one of the sessions with a 5k park run (or similar) but don’t get hung up on the time you run. Use the race to get out of your comfort zone without putting pressure on yourself to race flat out. Conventionally, interval training has been used pre-season for race preparation and during the race season itself to maintain form. Training done out of season is often a steady state type exercise with very few sessions where you can’t have a conversation with your training buddies. But what if we are missing a trick? What if doing some V02 maintenancetype sessions during the off season would make a difference when it comes to getting back into full intense training. Research* suggests that the latter is actually true.…

Drag is the force of the water resisting the forward movement of the swimmer. One of the causes of increased resistance to a swimmer is poor body position in the water. Typically, a runner or cyclist has a greater proportion of leg muscle mass to leg adipose tissue (fat) than a swimmer. This can affect buoyancy and cause the legs to sink which increases drag and effort and therefore increases fatigue. So how can a triathlete with sinking legs achieve a streamline position and decrease drag? 1. CORE STRENGTH Core strength is needed to achieve posture and alignment in the water. Exercises that engage the abdominal muscles contribute to maintaining a proper hip and low back position, which raise the legs into a streamlined position. CORE EXERCISE: Forward and side…

WHEN IT’S FOR unsporting behaviour or abusing an official we’d all agree it’s a fair penalty well deserved. But there are also grey areas where the athlete has no idea they’re breaking the rules. This season, several disqualifications (either mid-event, or at the finish) triggered a huge response on forums. South Africa’s Richard Murray was disqualified from the Hamburg World Series event, in July, for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Murray was said to have over-reacted to a 10 second time penalty awarded for depositing his wetsuit in another athlete’s transition box. The following month, at Ironman Vichy 70.3 in France, race favourite Diana Riesler was one of a number of racers disqualified in T1 for wearing a swim skin over a race suit (French federation rules insist on one layer only in…

Next issue: Conquer your IM run I f you want to do well at an Ironman distance triathlon it’s vital that you pace yourself during the bike section. Once your legs get too sore from riding hard you have almost no chance of running well afterwards. There’s no going back from this point – the run section will feel like purgatory. Therefore your goal is to ride at the fastest pace that still enables you to run well afterwards. This point was underlined recently by British Ironman professional Will Clarke after coming second at Ironman Copenhagen 2016 in a personal best of 7 hours and 59 minutes: “The bike pace was quite high for me, I was above 310 watts for a bit too long. I knew if I carried…

GOLD AWARD PEAK PERFORMER TOP VALUE WOMEN’S TRI SUITS ORCA WOMEN’S CORE RACE SUIT £89 orca.com A fabulous feel, look and performance. Orca have raised the bar with this suit. HUUB ESSENTIAL TRI SUIT £79.99 huubdesign.com Top quality looks and performance at an almost entry-level price. MORE MILE SONIC LADIES TRI SUIT £30 moremile.co.uk Bargain, entry-level, suit. An extra zip guard and smoother seams would make it better. TYR FEMALE COMPETITOR TRI SUIT £99.99 wiggle.co.uk A quality suit oozing with impressive features. 2XU PERFORM TRI SUIT £105 2xu.com A comfortable, flattering, suit that looks good and performs brilliantly MEN’S TRI SUITS DHB PERFORMANCE TRI SUIT £45 wiggle.co.uk Impressive improved performance at a budget price. SAILFISH MEN’S TRI SUIT PRO TEAM £185 sailfish.com A joy to wear across all three disciplines…

Our sport is most commonly referred to as triathlon but many variations fall under the triathlon umbrella: duathlon, (run/bike/run) aquathlon (swim/run) and more recently aquabike (swim/bike) to name but a few. So what is your speciality? Are you an out-and-out triathlete or do you prefer the more specialised events involving only two disciplines? Maybe cycling is not your thing or maybe you prefer to avoid anything that involves dipping your toe in the water. Although triathlon is the recognised sport included at all major events including the Olympics, the demand for duathlon and aquathlon is increasing with major awards and prizes up for grabs. You could argue that targeting your strengths is the preferred option, while others may point out you should work on your weaknesses to become a more…