Dave Scott’s 12-Week Early-Season Run Training Program

Posted on January 15, 2012, 1:15 am, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.
 

Did you fade over the final eight miles of your Ironman race? Were you able to develop your speed for your Olympic- and sprint-distance races? You did your track workouts, but what went wrong?

To answer these questions you need to take a look at the consistency and progression of your endurance-building long run during the off-season and pre-season.

But the long run, a regular over-distance training session that varies in length depending upon the event you plan to race, can be either the cure or the culprit in the success or demise of your season.

Nonetheless, the advantages of the long run tend to outweigh any potential downside, particularly when an athlete schedules long runs as part of a logical and systematic progression of overload and recovery.

Advantages of the Long Run:

  • Establishes a fitness base upon which an athlete can build cardiovascular and cardio-respiratory fitness through higher-intensity workouts later in the year
  • Boosts the physiological variables that are the core of an athlete’s aerobic system:
    1. Capillary density. Increased density allows a greater flow and potential volume of oxygen and nutrients to fuel the muscles
    2. Number of mitochondria (the cellular power plants that produce energy)
    3. Increases aerobic enzymes, which aid in the breakdown of glucose, glycogen and fats for energy metabolism. The activity of the aerobic enzymes is elevated as a result of aerobic exercise
    4. Elevates oxygen transport
  • Increases muscular endurance and sustained muscular strength
  • Improves running economy at all speeds
  • Develops specific quadriceps and lower-leg endurance/strength through concentric and eccentric loading
  • Allows a slow but steady structural development of the connective tissue
  • Prepares the body physically and mentally to go the distance in your races

However, if you increase your training volume too quickly, run entirely on hard surfaces or take inadequate recovery, the accumulated effect could lead to injury. Thus, before I outline the parameters of a progressive program for your long run over the next several weeks, it’s important to recognize the potential negative side of going too far too fast.

Disadvantages of the Long Run:

  • Increases connective tissue and joint vulnerability through repetitive pounding
  • Elevates muscle sensitivity and tendon soreness
  • Prolongs recovery for two to four days depending upon volume, intensity and fitness level
  • Key workouts on bike and swim may suffer due to the excessive fatigue and need for recovery produced by long runs
  • Dependence on a long run throughout the year may develop a psychological crutch or need to simply to cover the miles, which can ultimately cause accumulated fatigue

Getting the Long Run Right

As you ease into your training, here are a few parameters to help define your 12-week early-season run progression, which is described in greater detail below.

If you’re focusing on sprint-distance races this season, build up to six to eight runs of 75 minutes. Don’t push beyond your fitness or ability in an effort to get to 75 minutes.

Instead, begin your long run at 45 minutes and continue the progression of the long run into the pre-competitive phase of your training cycle, which will follow this early-season developmental period.

If your focus is the Olympic distance, you should include eight long runs of between 80 and 100 minutes during the initial 12-week program.

For half- and Ironman-distance athletes who are training for multiple races at these distances, consider implementing two distance cycles for your long run, split between an early-season and a late-summer build.

According to Plan

The long-run training formula I have listed below follows a systematic progression for short- and long-course racing for the next 12 weeks; however, when you’ve reached 100 minutes on your long run, you may want to consider splitting this into two daily runs of approximately 70 and 30 percent of the distance. This will potentially curtail injuries and will still achieve the goal distance or time.

For example, if the long run progression is up to 120 minutes, the split could be: 84 minutes for the first run and 36 minutes for the second run.

The seasonal objective for a half-Ironman athlete should be six to eight long runs of 1:40 to two hours. Ironman athletes should have eight runs of 1:55 to 2:30, depending upon athlete history and ability to recover.

Long Run Weeks 1-8

  1. Include two long runs per week on nonconsecutive days. Increase volume by five percent per week. Sprint-distance athletes should schedule one long run per week, progressing by seven to 10 percent per week.
  2. Split the sessions with three days of lighter and shorter run sessions combined with your bike and swim workouts.
  3. The longer long run should be 15 to 30 percent longer than the second long run.
  4. The total time or distance of the two long runs should not exceed 70 percent of your weekly run volume. For example, if your total run volume per week is 200 minutes, then the sum of the two long runs should be no greater than 140 minutes.
  5. One long run should be over variable terrain (rolling course), and both long runs could be on trails during this block.
  6. Maintain an aerobic pace. Broken conversation at 18 to 30 beats below lactate-threshold heart rate.
  7. If a recovery week is necessary, the long runs in weeks four and eight could be reduced in volume to equal the volume of weeks two and six.

Long Run Weeks 9-12

After the initial eight-week buildup, the focus of the long run should shift to a single day. The second weekly long run can be maintained at the same distance or slightly reduced as the single long run increases in duration.

  1. Long run increases seven to 10 percent per week
  2. Include off-road or trail running for 75 percent of the workout time; 25 percent should be on a hard surface. This hard-surface segment can be interjected at anytime during the course of the long run.
  3. The long run can be split into two runs (both on the same day) if recovery or biomechanics limit your progression. The split session should be divided with 70 percent of the total time in first run and 30 percent in second run. Allow at least three hours between runs.
  4. During this four-week block, consider increasing the time on weeks nine, 10 and 12 with a 30-percent drop in time on week 11. Allowing a reduction in time on week 11 will enable you to rebound for the final week.
  5. Maintain aerobic effort with gentle running while going down hills.

As you complete this 12-week cycle, there should be a subtle shift in your effort and recovery as you move into the next phase of your training. The long run can be maintained and integrated throughout the entire year; however, adequate rest and pacing are vital ingredients for optimal racing.

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Go Old School: Return to Run-dominant Bricks

Posted on January 3, 2012, 3:05 am, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.
 

In my early years as a triathlete, I based my training largely on the advice I received from a friend and colleague named Bernie Freeman.

Although he had packed away his wetsuit in mothballs by the time I met him, Bernie had been an outstanding age-grouper in the late 1980s and early ’90s, placing 14th overall at Ironman Canada in 1989. He based his training on guidelines offered by the sport’s first generation of gurus, including Dave Scott and Ray Browning.

One of the workouts that Scott and gang taught Bernie to do, and that Bernie in turn taught me to do, was a run-dominant brick workout; that is, a bike-run workout in which the run segment was relatively more challenging than the bike segment. A typical example of a bike-dominant brick workout is a 90-minute moderate-intensity ride followed by a one-hour moderate-intensity run.

I’m not sure exactly how Bernie practiced these workouts, but I fell into the habit of doing a run-dominant brick workout every other weekend. On alternate weekends I did a bike-dominant brick (for example, a two-hour ride followed by a 30-minute run). On those weekends when I did a run-dominant brick workout on Saturday, I completed a long ride on Sunday. And on those weekends when I did a bike-dominant brick workout on Saturday, I tackled a long run on Sunday.

I found this approach to be an efficient way to develop cycling and running endurance in the right proportions and the ability to survive prolonged-running off the bike.

Gone But Not Forgotten

In 2007, the run-dominant brick workout appears to be nearly extinct. I know of very few triathletes who practice this workout anymore, and today’s gurus actively discourage triathletes from doing real bricks featuring longer runs.

Traditional brick workouts have been replaced by so-called transition runs—short runs of 10 to 20 minutes off the bike whose purpose is to teach the body to quickly find its running legs after a hard ride. This is the only benefit to be gained from running off the bike in training, say today’s gurus. Running long off the bike is just too stressful on the body and offers no fitness benefit that cannot be achieved in a less stressful way by doing short transition runs off the bike and long runs on separate days.

I’m not so sure about that. I think there’s a pretty huge difference between running for 15 minutes after a hard ride in training and running for 90 minutes or more after a hard ride in an Ironman 70.3 (to say nothing of running for three to five hours off the bike in a full Ironman). Running long off the bike is indeed stressful on the body.

Since we have no choice but to experience this type of stress in longer triathlons, does it not make sense to get accustomed to it in training? Run-dominant brick workouts are stressful in precisely the same way that longer triathlons are stressful. Transition runs and regular long runs, while unquestionably beneficial, are decidedly less specific to the demands of longer triathlons. So let’s bring back the run-dominant brick workout.

How to Do It
If you’re currently training for longer triathlons with today’s methods, you probably do a long ride followed by a short transition run every Saturday and a long run every Sunday, or vice versa. If so, I suggest that you replace this schedule with the old-school rotating weekend-workout schedule I described above. Here’s an example:

Today’s Standard Weekend

  • Saturday: Long ride + Transition run (Example: 60-mile bike + 1-mile run)
  • Sunday: Long run (Example: 12-mile run)

 

Old-School Weekend No. 1

  • Saturday: Run-dominant brick workout (Example: 30-mile bike + 8-mile run)
  • Sunday: Long ride (Example: 60-mile ride)

 

Old-School Weekend No. 2

  • Saturday: Bike-dominant brick workout (Example: 45-mile bike + 4-mile run)
  • Sunday: Long run (Example: 12-mile run)

 

With the old-school approach, you will do fewer pure long rides and runs (one every other week instead of one every week) than you do with today’s approach, but you will more than make up the difference by doing a hard brick workout (either run-dominant or bike-dominant) every week. Assuming you spend the same total amount of time training with the old-school approach to weekend training as you do with today’s approach, the latter will definitely be more challenging. And that’s why it will make you fitter and able to perform better on race day.

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10 Reasons to Keep a Training Diary

Posted on November 22, 2011, 10:08 am, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.

A training diary is a chronicle, journal, memento, memoir and log. It is a personal record of events, experiences and observations.

It can be a coach and a crystal ball. It can provide a wake-up call and a slap on the wrist.

A training diary is one of the best tools you can use if your goals are to improve. Performance trends and patterns that cannot be seen by observing one day at a time become clear in a diary.

Your resting heart rate for one day does not tell you much, but observing the pattern of rise and fall against the background of a training schedule can red-flag fatiguing workouts and identify the number of days required for proper recovery.

Here are 10 reasons to keep a training diary:

1. Identify What it Takes to Be Really Fast

Following a peak performance, you will have a solid record of every detail it took to get there. What was your body weight when you were really fast? This is a super-useful piece of data. The lightest weight you can achieve is never the weight at which you are the fastest. How long was your taper? What were your final key workouts?

2. Correct Performance Slumps

During a training slump, look back in your log to identify the culprit—lack of sleep, too many miles, too much intensity, poor nutrition? Once you have made a positive identification you can rectify the mistake and never make it again. A slight downswing in performance data will quickly make you aware your training plan needs tweaking.

Without consistent logging of data it is easy to overlook a performance downswing until it’s huge and glaring and requires significant training plan modifications rather than a little tweak.

3. Confirm Patterns

By consistently logging fatigue-level data, one of my athletes has discovered that Tuesday of a peak week is always a slump day for her, but by the weekend race she is on fire. Now we have named them "tired Tuesdays."

On tired Tuesdays she can relax and take it easy with the confidence that is it part of her normal peaking process. Prior to tracking this trend it was highly stressful for her to feel blown on Tuesday.

4. Build Confidence

Tired legs are often the only clear evidence you have logged a quality training session, and these disappear with a few days recovery. During a taper for an "A" race it is easy to forget about all of the hard work and preparation you have done and let doubt that you have done enough training creep into your mind.

A training diary creates a permanent record of accomplishments. Reviewing every weekly goal and training period-objective achieved will back you up before a big race when your confidence is faltering.

5. Create Motivation

Have a place in your diary to record data from significant performance milestones such as tests, key workouts and races. Tabulating and comparing this data over time can be a significant motivator as you are able to track progress in your performance.

I started a training diary in the early ’90s and now get a kick out of seeing what I did on that particular day a decade prior. On occasion, I have gone out and repeated an interval session I did 10 years ago. By having the intervals logged I can race myself. To be as fast as a 10-years-younger version of myself is an awfully good feeling.

6. Be Accountable

A training diary makes it tougher to blow off training sessions when you know you have to log your actions for the day. Many athletes publish their training logs online to make them even more accountable.

I often coach myself. Having my training log available for my athletes to read keeps me honest and following established training principles.

7. Give Your Coach What She Needs

If you have a coach, keeping a training diary that is accessible for your coach to read 24/7 is an essential part of effective communication. The more information you can gather and provide your coach, the better job they can do for you. Using an online training journal (such as Active Trainer’s) is ideal as both athlete and coach have access to the log.

Heart rate and power-training data can be downloaded and analyzed with sophisticated tools, and yearly data can be summarized with a single click.

8. Plan to Get Better

Most athletes have a progressive goal to do better next season. At the end of this season, your diary is a written record of what worked and didn’t work for you. What type of races or courses did you excel on? How many total annual hours did you train? Your diary is a gold mine of information to use to improve next season’s training plan.

9. Confirm Goals

Your training diary is the ideal place to record and stay grounded with your goals. When training is going well, it is easy to suffer from goal inflation and get distracted from your true goals.

10. Emotional Outlet

Training and racing can invoke some irrational and intense emotions. Dropping out of your "A" goal race can provide you with days, if not weeks, of second-guessing and angst that you didn’t try hard enough.

In reality, beyond yourself and your coach, nobody else cares much if you had a poor race. Family members tire very quickly hearing about it repeatedly. A training diary is an ideal place to vent these emotions. Putting them down on paper often puts them into perspective.

Written training journals are still highly popular. The satisfaction of looking at a row of training journals dating back 10 years or more is immense and somehow gives life and value to the countless hours spent training.

Cross-country skier Luke Bodensteiner published his training journal for the year leading up to the 1994 Winter Olympics under the name Endless Winter. It is a hilarious and sometimes touching chronicle of his training, full of moments every endurance athlete will relate to.

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Granger and Rhodes Prevail at 2008 Subaru Ironman Canada

Posted on November 2, 2011, 9:05 am, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.

Penticton, BC — It was a perfect morning as 2,200 athletes entered the waters of Lake Okanagan for the 26th running of Subaru Ironman Canada in Penticton, British Columbia, and the surrounding area on Sunday, August 24, 2008. The event was won by Belinda Granger of Australia and Bryan Rhodes of New Zealand.

Rhodes, who has had three top-five finishes previously at Subaru Ironman Canada, did not have his usual fast swim—clearly reserving some energy for the bike and run portion of the course. He faced an early challenge on the run from Victoria’s Jasper Blake. Blake was not able to sustain the charge and fell back to third place. Second place was claimed by first-time Ironman competitor Bernhard Heibl of Austria.


Belinda Granger.      Photo courtesy of asiphoto.com

 

Granger dominated the women’s race, taking the lead early in the bike and bettering the course record by some 11 minutes with a 4:52 bike time.

She continued to lead throughout the marathon, finishing in a time of 9:17:58 in front of fellow Australian Ali Fitch. The first Canadian woman was third place Heather Wurtele. Wurtele added the podium finish to her win at Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene earlier this year.

  

  

  

Top Ten Finishers

Men

1. Bryan Rhodes (#9) at 8:30:12
2. Bernhard Hiebl (#35) at 8:34:34
3. Jasper Blake (#1) at 8:36:08
4. Andriy Yastrebov (#4) at 8:37:11
5. Justin Daerr (#14) at 8:37:34
6. Kyle Marcotte (#5) at 8:44:30
7. Matt Lieto (#10) at 8:45:42
8. Courtney Ogden (#17) at 8:47:04
9. Nigel Gray (#26) at 8:50:35
10. Matt Seeley (#22) at 8:51:17

Women

1. Belinda Granger (#67) at 9:17:58
2. Alison Fitch (#68) at 9:26:15
3. Heather Wurtele (#66) at 9:39:51
4. Sara Gross (#51) at 9:41:31
5. Lisa Bentley (#50) at 9:42:37
6. Desiree Ficker (#53) at 9:56:09
7. Tracy Robertson (#59) at 9:59:27
8. Janelle Morrison (#1856) at 9:59:54
9. Rachel Kiers (#57) at 10:04:47
10. Catherine Brown (#1822) at 10:10:36

Over 2,200 athletes participated in the 26th edition of Subaru Ironman Canada, the longest running Ironman race in continental North America. The picturesque Okanagan Valley played host to an international field that was competing for a $75,000 (Canadian) pro prize purse and 80 qualifying spots for the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.


Photo courtesy of asiphoto.com

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Midnight Registration for 2010 NYC Tri Coming Soon

Posted on October 19, 2011, 7:06 am, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.

The more popular triathlon becomes, the harder it can be to snag a bib for some of the sport’s favorite races.

The 2009 Nautica New York City Triathlon sold out in just 22 minutes. Follow these helpful hints to give yourself the best odds at toeing the line on July 18, 2010, in the Big Apple.

1. Join the Club

Registration for the 2010 NYC Tri opens on Sunday, November 1 at 12:01 a.m., but USA Triathlon is offering a chance to register two days earlier. After receiving a special registration link via email, USAT members can sign up on October 30 at 12:01 a.m. There are a limited number of pre-entries, so be prepared to…

2. Stay Up Late

The 2007 NYC Tri took 11 days to fill up. The following year sold out in eight hours. Can it possibly break 22 minutes for 2010? Whether it does or not, don’t assume there will be spots left when the sun comes up. So reschedule the Sunday morning group ride, keep the coffee brewing and camp out in front of the computer. But first…

3. Set Up an Account

If you don’t already have one, you can set up an Active.com account now and eliminate the amount of information you’ll have to fill out when registering. Already have an account? Have your username and password handy, log in a few minutes before registration opens and get ready to…

4. Be Organized

Do you have your credit card available? Are you a USAT member or are you registering for a one-day license? Are you racing as an elite or an age-grouper? Do you plan to compete in the Ivy League Schools or First Responders Challenge, or the Accenture U.S. ParaTriathlon National Championships? Has your triathlon club been added to the list for the Tri Club Championship?

When registering for a race that sells out in less than 30 minutes, it pays to know exactly which information you’ll need to fill out. Not familiar with the process? Visit the NYC Triathlon FAQ page. Once you’ve got all your ducks in a row, you’ve simply got to…

5. Time it Right

Come back to this page or the Nautica New York City Triathlon official website to find the link to registration. Once there, be patient, wait 60 seconds after the midnight hour, and then get to it!

And remember, daylight savings time doesn’t end until 2:00 a.m. Hopefully, you’ve registered, received your confirmation email and begun dreaming of fast transitions and finisher’s medals by then.

Good luck!

Click Here for the 2010 Nautica New York City Triathlon Registration Page

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How to Choose a Beginner Triathlon Training Program

Posted on October 12, 2011, 7:11 pm, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.

Training for a triathlon can seem a bit overwhelming to someone new to the sport. You have three sports to train for and may only have a limited amount of skill and time to train.

Finding a good program is the best way to go about starting your training regime.

Here is what a beginner or first-timer should look for in a triathlon training program:

1. Coaching: Since you may be new to one or more of the events, it is important to have proper coaching. A coach can help you improve technique and become more efficient at a sport. They can also be encouraging and help monitor your progress.

2. Daily training calendar: A calendar will help you stay on target with your goals and will help you organize your training so that it does not interfere with your regular schedule and life. Typically, the calendar should have a variety of levels where you can pick the level that is right for you.

3. Flexibility: Families, jobs, commitments and hectic schedules keep us busy. It is important that the program you choose allows you to be flexible. If you can’t make it to a pool to swim, you can go for a run or head to the gym for strength training.

4. Clinics: You program should prepare you with, nutrition, equipment, and race transition clinics. All of these clinics should help you better understand the different sports and make you more comfortable and effective.

5. Support and Gear (SAG): As you get closer to your event, your training’s should become longer and more intense. Having support in the form of water and food stops, and equipment and gear support will be important.

6. Access to venues: Not everyone is lucky enough to have their own pool or access to safe training venues such as tracks and trails. A good training program should provide you with access to specific venues to use throughout your training.

7. Team: Training for a triathlon on your own can be difficult. Find a program that provides and encourages a team environment. It’s easier to get out of bed on a Saturday morning if you know that others will be there with you.

8. A cause: It is often easier to train for an endurance event, such as a triathlon, if you know the ultimate goal is to support a good cause.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training offers all of the above in a four-month triathlon training program. In addition, they also provide travel arrangements, accommodations and race entry. Team In Training has been named the “Number One Charity Sports Training Program” by Competitor Magazine.

Training for your first triathlon doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. If done properly, it should be the time of your life.

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Triathlon Training: Are You Ready for an Ironman?

Posted on October 10, 2011, 2:06 am, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.

Active Expert Gale Bernhardt fields questions from readers on doing your first Ironman, defining “interval,” and focusing your training.

Am I Ready for an Ironman?

Q. I finished my first Olympic-distance tri this year after following your training plan. I struggled at first with my goggles in the swim and rode my bike a little too fast, so I walked part of the 10K—but overall had a very rewarding experience. You guessed it, I’m hooked. Am I ready to train for a half-distance race? Could a couple of half-Ironman events lead me to Ironman Florida in 2008? Gale, thank you so much for your help. I was injury free and never had soreness (except the day after the race). I’m 57 years old and the little boy in me is excited again. God bless you!
-A.E.

A. Greetings A.E.-
Thanks for dropping us a note to let us know you enjoyed my training plan and Active Trainer. A big congrats to you for finishing the race, well done!

I am currently working with a fellow who is 51. He did sprint races and one Olympic triathlon his first year—a mere nine months after learning to swim. Like you, after doing the races he was hooked on the sport and had his eye on Ironman Florida.

He spent his second year in the sport continuing to build his swimming technique and fitness. He also worked on building overall triathlon endurance by successfully completing two half-ironman distance events. In 2007, his third year as a triathlete, he very successfully completed Ironman Florida. 

I think it is possible for you to be ready for an Ironman Florida 2008. However, with the limited information I have about you, my initial reaction is for you to use 2008 to get more experience under your belt and at least one 70.3-distance race. Aim to do an Ironman race in 2009. I know it’s a long way away, but unless you have a deep history of endurance sports, I think you would have a more positive experience if you would use next year to build your fitness. This is the same advice I gave the now 53-year-old fellow I mentioned.

One other thing to realize is that many Ironman events sell out fast. Ironman Florida is already full for 2008. Now is the time to start planning for 2008 and even 2009. Set your goals, know when and how to register, and begin mapping out how your training will conform to that schedule. This will help you create a clear path to your chosen finish line.

Thanks again for your nice words about the training program. Keep us posted on what you do for fun and fitness.

Explaining “Intervals”

Q. Dear Gale, I have just started one of your online training programs, and I have a request to make. Although I have biked off and on for years, I’ve never been serious until now. I’m ready to step up to a new level. Some of the language you use is unfamiliar to me, such as: “interval.” To me, it means a break in the middle of a play—but it means something totally different in cycling and triathlon language. Can you help? I would really appreciate this, and I look forward to expanding my cycling and triathlon vocabulary.
-M.B.

A. Hi M. B.-
You ask a great question. Each sport does have its own language. Here is my definition of interval:

Interval: A specified amount of time between actions (either rest or exercise). Workouts that contain intervals typically have a series of work bouts (work intervals) where the athlete is attempting to achieve a specific exercise intensity. The work intervals are separated by specified rest periods (rest intervals).

Hope you have fun with the training plan. Let us know how it goes.

Getting Your Training on Track

Q. I’m a 45-year-old male who was using a random method of training for events last summer. In June, I finished a 70.3-distance race in about 7 hours, 30 minutes. Mid-September, I finished another event and my experience wasn’t so good. Now that I’ve had a break, I want to look at doing a better job of establishing a routine for my tri training and also build some base fitness for 2008. I’ve started on my own, but I really have no clue what I’m doing. (Know that prior to this year I’d never even done a 5K, now I’m hooked on the sport.) I want to get a jump on my New Year’s fitness, what plan would you recommend for me?
-R.M.

A. The best way to decide on a base training program is to study each one’s description. Start with the main menu here. Click on the link for any of the plans and you will find an athlete profile, goals for the training plan, a two-week preview and a nice overview of the training plan’s volume.

Preview the first two weeks and compare it to the training you’ve done in the past. Your current training level should be such that the first week looks very doable. Each week builds training volume and gets progressively more difficult. If the first week of the training plan you select looks too easy, try a more advanced one. The reverse is true if the first week looks too difficult.

Notice the plans have a range of weekly training hours and a note of how long the training plan lasts. Some of the base plans have a second phase of training. If you have the time to build more base fitness before your first race, these Phase 2 plans are a nice option.

Hope this helps and keep us posted on your athletic success.

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Do Age Groupers Really Need Tubular Tires?

Posted on October 1, 2011, 11:11 pm, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.

You hear someone touting the superiority of tubular tires on almost every group ride.

Someone asks someone else what they recommend in the way of race wheels, and although the brand will vary, there are generally three constants: carbon, deep section and tubular. Then the discussion shifts to tubular tire brands and how best to mount them.

Oh, and this part is not only about the convenience of the new adhesive tapes or the importance of using as little glue as possible (even though three layers on the rim is generally recommended). No, it’s also about being aware that the bottom layer of a tubular is itself held to the rest of the tire with adhesives, some of which may be incompatible with certain glues.

Just as you notice the listener becoming intimidated by the thought of mounting tubulars and changing flats, the advice-giver quickly switches from the practical issues to the performance arguments:

  • Tubulars provide lower rolling resistance
  • Tubular wheelsets boast lower overall weight
  • Tubulars corner better
  • Tubulars are safer in the case of a flat tire
  • Tubulars are less prone to pinch flats
  • Most pros use tubulars
  • And everyone’s favorite: Nothing compares to the "feel" of a tubular

I am here to reassure you that despite the arguments above, you do not need to use tubulars. After months of interviewing manufacturers, elite riders and equipment experts of all kinds, I am convinced that if you are more fit than a competitor, you will beat them (or vice-versa) regardless which tire system you use. However, this article is not about which system is better; it’s about which system is better for you, and why tubulars do not make sense for the overwhelming majority of riders.

I’m not anti-tubular. I run a great set of tubulars on a deep-section wheelset that live on my TT bike, because when I was looking at aero wheels, I figured every hundredth of a second counted. I had a pro mechanic triple-glue my rims over three or four days with ultra-thin coats of an excellent, compatible tubular glue and likewise prep my expensive tubulars with a very thin coating.

He then mounted the tires and let everything dry and set for 24 hours, then checked them again. Finally, he had me take them out on a ride and then looked them over one last time. Do I discern any performance advantage over clinchers? Not really. For heaven’s sake, Chrissie Wellington runs clinchers and they seem to suit her just fine.

The truth is that I bought those tubulars largely out of curiosity. I was also driven by fear—fear of not doing everything I could to be as fast as possible. I don’t know if I’d make the same choice if faced with the decision today.

Speaking of fear, tubulars make for thrilling stories, both tragic and exhilarating. I remember watching footage from a Tour de France stage finish in the 1980s where a lone breakaway rider had only a couple of turns to clear before a career-defining victory. Unfortunately, he rolled a tubular off his rear wheel in one of the final corners, went down, and while he waited for a replacement wheel, a chase group came through and was gone.

The reality is that a well-glued tubular shouldn’t ever roll off, as long as glue is not allowed extra time to dry out and become brittle. While over-glueing your tires will ensure they’ll never roll off, doing so negates any potential savings in rolling resistance. Furthermore, in the case of over-glued tubulars, you may not be able to get them off if you need to fix a flat out on the road. Remember Normann Stadler trying in vain to pry off a punctured tubular while broken Kona dreams streamed down his face?

Most of the pro wrenches, racers and wheel manufacturers I’ve consulted admit that the performance gap between tubulars and clinchers has narrowed considerably, if not completely. A little more than half of them claimed that nothing feels or corners as well as a tubular. After pressing them on the issue, this is generally what they say:

"Well, I’ll be frank with you. If I weren’t a sponsored rider/didn’t work for a wheel manufacturer, I would probably own a single set of high-end wheels: a mid-to-high-profile, all-carbon clincher. We’ve gotten to the point where the real-world differences are minimal and all-carbon clincher rims and new, multi-durometer clincher tires really are that good."

Believe in All-Carbon Clinchers

I’ve been running high-end, all-carbon clinchers on my road bike for the past two years, and I must say that I’m a believer. With the growth in popularity of both cyclocross and triathlon, as well as the increased availability of mountain bike tubulars, it seems that the resurgence of tubulars has ironically surfaced just when clincher technology closed the gap.

This is especially true now that all-carbon clinchers have demonstrated that they can stand up to the rigors of pro road events and prevail. Case in point: The HealthNet Professional Cycling Team presented by Maxxis (a clincher-only tire manufacturer) won four National Racing Calendar titles on Reynolds all-carbon clinchers.

One argument for tubulars is that most ProTour riders still prefer and ride tubulars. With all due respect, we’re talking about a racer demographic that was slow to adopt aero bars, threadless headsets and clipless pedals. Even worse, many Pro Tour riders still believe that a slightly lighter, less aero bike is better on a time trial course with just a tiny hill (it’s not).

Former CSC, HealthNet and Toyota-United pro team mechanic, Nicholas Legan, breaks tire selection down to three key considerations: safety, performance and value.

"Safety is a double-edged sword in the clincher/tubular debate. A clincher tire will not roll off a rim like an improperly glued tubular can in extreme situations. Often this is due to poor gluing procedure or impatience on the part of the tire installer. In the hands of home mechanics or shop hands without tubular experience, tubulars seem like the riskier choice.

"There is a flipside to this portion of the debate though: When a tubular is properly glued, it will not come off the rim, even after a puncture. This is a huge advantage because the rider is not suddenly riding on a bare aluminum or carbon rim.

"Performance—now here’s where we get into the slippery world of subjectivity. There are many professionals today who have never or rarely raced on tubulars. That being said, most professional cycling teams still race on tubulars.

"Why? Well, tradition is a part of it, as well as the fact that pro teams employ professional mechanics to deal with wheels and tires. What’s more, most of the funding that wheel and tire manufacturers spend is currently directed at clincher technology. With the recent advent of tubeless road designs the options are increasing even more."

Which brings us to a nod in Steve Hed’s direction, whose new product development efforts warrant tech articles all their own. With the development of HED’s Ardennes rim models, 23mm tires — tubular and clincher—sit lower and rounder in the rim beds, instead of protruding from the rim in a bulbous shape. Sidewall deflection (or flex) is decreased, so that the tires’ contact patch with the road is shorter and wider.

HED claims that all those factors contribute to lower rolling resistance, in addition to improved aerodynamics. The rounder shape of the tires acts more like a fairing, transitioning more fluidly into the wider rim interface and along the rim’s surface to its nose.

But HED wheels certainly aren’t cheap, which brings us to Legan’s final angle of his three-pronged argument: value.

"For most riders and racers, clinchers are where it’s at for value. A single high-quality tubular can cost as much as the best set of clinchers. Add to the mix the labor costs of having tubulars professionally glued and the fact that an expensive spare tire (and not a $5 inner tube) should be carried when training on tubulars. All this virtually makes riding tubulars a race-only affair, and that’s not an ideal situation, either. The last thing a nervous, highly-caffeinated athlete needs is a wheel and tire set up that is foreign to him or her.

"A better solution is an ultra-slick set of carbon clinchers with high-quality tires that an athlete isn’t afraid to train on. It’s nice to know that on race day you know what your wheels are capable of, what the braking is like, how they react to crosswinds, etc."

And finally, Legan drives it all home with conclusions I share—such as how the choice can positively affect your racing and results:

"Why clinchers? Because they are real-world practical. I only have to carry a $5 spare tube. I don’t risk a $75 tubular when I puncture. I also know that I can easily fix them roadside and I have no reason to abbreviate my ride if I flat because I’m worried about rolling a spare tubular. Both tubulars and clinchers have their advantages, but for me, when spending my hard-earned play money, I’ll spend it on clinchers. Everything from Paris-Roubaix to NRC titles have been won on clinchers. It will never be my tires holding me back."

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4 for Speed: Hit Your Late-Season Races in Peak Cycling Form

Posted on September 25, 2011, 11:07 am, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.

You’ve been racing for months now, but you may have one more big goal race on the horizon this season: XTERRA Maui, Ironman Hawaii or the ITU short-course world championships.

But regardless of whether your season’s final race is a local sprint-distance event or big-time international race, you should be looking for one last jump in fitness to help you peak for your best performance of the year. The following tips will help you light up the bike course and still have energy left over for the run.

Boost Your Power

Your lactate threshold (LT) is the intensity at which lactic-acid accumulation in your blood exceeds your body’s ability to remove it. Studies have shown that trained athletes can race at their LT for about one hour. By training at or just below your LT, you’re training your body to work hard and remove the lactic acid from your blood, effectively increasing your LT.

After training at this intensity level, you’ll be able to produce more power, and therefore more speed, at any given intensity below your LT.

Steady-state intervals are ideal for triathletes who are trying to increase their lactate threshold. These intervals should be done at a perceived exertion of approximately eight on a scale of 10 and will be difficult, but not maximal, efforts. Pedal cadence should be roughly the same as your racing cadence, optimally in the 85 to 95 rpm range.

Ideally, you’ll work up to a total of about 60 minutes of these threshold intervals by the time of your goal race. They can be divided into 6 x 10, 4 x 15, or 3 x 20 minutes, and recovery should be nearly equivalent to the length of the work interval. Short-course racers should focus on the shorter-length intervals, while long-course racers should strive to complete the 60 minutes in one or two intervals.

Bump up Your VO2 Max

While training at or below your LT is great for increasing the amount of time you can race at that intensity, if you can raise your maximal power production and aerobic capacity, it will allow your LT to improve as well.

Power intervals are short, maximal efforts designed to improve your maximal aerobic capacity, or VO2 max. The goal is to increase your top-end speed and power. Pedal cadence should be higher than you would normally maintain in a race; above 110 rpm is ideal. Typically, the total amount of time spent performing power intervals in any given workout will amount to about 20 to 30 minutes by the time you’re ready to begin tapering for your goal event.

These intervals can be divided into 8 x 2, 6 x 3, 5 x 4 or 4 x 5 minutes, and recovery should be equivalent in duration to the length of the work interval. As the work-interval duration increases, the intensity must decrease in order to allow you to complete the workout. Racers of all distances should start their intervals at one to two minutes in length and strive to complete the intervals of four to five minutes in length in the month leading up to their goal race.

Build Power Above LT

The weeks leading up to your goal event are the perfect time to focus on increasing your power at intensities just above LT. These workouts will be crucial for short-course racers as well as long-course athletes whose goal events have many turns or short hills.

These intervals are also useful for improving lactate-buffering ability, or lactate tolerance, which allows you to surge above your LT, accumulate large quantities of lactic acid and recover more quickly.

Descending intervals are short, maximal efforts. This workout is performed much like a swimming or running ladder, with recovery intervals equal to the length of the previous work interval. Descending intervals are best performed on an indoor trainer or flat section of road to allow for high cadences (110 rpm or greater) and therefore high heart rates.

“Descending” refers to the fact that a set of descending intervals begin with a two- to three-minute max effort, and each subsequent interval becomes 10 to 30 seconds shorter. For example, one set of descending intervals may consist of:

  • 2:00 max effort, 2:00 recovery spin
  • 1:30 max effort, 1:30 recovery spin
  • 1:00 max effort, 1:00 recovery spin
  • 0:30 max effort, :30 recovery spin

Within a few weeks of beginning this workout, you should be able to complete two to three sets of intervals with five to 10 minutes of recovery after each set.

Over-under intervals are another workout that will train your body to recover from high levels of accumulated lactic acid and increase power just above LT. “Over and under” refers to the zones just above and below your lactate threshold. You’ll spend a designated amount of time just below your LT at the steady-state level, and then immediately increase the intensity to the level just above LT for a brief amount of time before returning to the steady-state level.

This pattern of under and over (one under plus one over is considered one interval) is repeated for one to four intervals. Each under portion of the interval should be two to 10 minutes in length, and the over portions should be one to three minutes in duration. One set will consist of one to four intervals, and you should strive to accomplish three to four sets by the time of your goal race.

Recover, Recover, Recover

During this time of slightly less volume and increased intensity, rest between workouts is very important. While you’re performing intervals at and above your lactate threshold, it’s possible to wear yourself out without proper rest and recovery.

Be sure to allow 24 to 36 hours of recovery between lactate-threshold interval sessions and 24 to 48 hours of recovery between sessions above lactate threshold. This will allow your body to replenish its carbohydrate stores, eliminate lactic acid and other metabolites from the blood and muscles as well as allow your mind to get mentally prepared for another session.

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Solving Foot Pain From Treadmill Running

Posted on September 11, 2011, 10:06 pm, by admin, under Triathlon Articles.

Q: To make a long story short, I have been running on and off all my life. Triathlon is a relatively new sport and I love it.

Recently, I have had a problem with my toes going numb in my shoes. I went and replaced my shoes because we found out that after the last baby, my feet were bigger and flatter.

However, I still have a problem with my toes hurting, curling up and getting stiff. I think it is a tension thing. It also seems to only happen when I am on the treadmill and after mile four. What are your thoughts?

A: When you mention foot pain and tension, the first thing that comes to mind is snow skiing when conditions are icy. Often, when athletes ski in icy conditions, they find that their entire body gets tense, most of all their feet. They usually find that they are trying to hold on to the slope by gripping the bottom of their ski boots with their toes.

Once they feel their toes and feet beginning to ache, they can usually reduce the aching sensation by focusing on good form and doing a relaxation-check. This check is a mental check list with a physical link. Mentally go from head to toe and very consciously remove the tension from each body part, beginning at the forehead, then face, neck, shoulders, upper back and then on down through the feet.

If you believe your problem is tension related, you might try the conscious relaxation technique when you notice the pain in your feet coming on.

I’m not sure how long it has been since you had your child. I am assuming you gave yourself ample time to rebuild fitness and the core muscle strength to run at your current training volume and intensity. If not, you may need to back off on running volume and/or speed.

Foot Pain From Treadmill Running

You don’t mention what is going on with the treadmill speed and incline during these workouts. If the treadmill speed, and your feet, seem fine at the start of the workout, but then it gets pretty challenging (either because you increase the speed or the speed you began with is not sustainable after four miles) you might try slowing the treadmill down.

You can use a combination of treadmill speed and heart rate to see if you are overextending yourself for any given treadmill speed. If you do not use a heart rate monitor in training, notice the level of your breathing as the workout progresses. In either case, if you find your heart rate and breathing begin at a comfortable rate and then steadily increase to high and labored about the time your feet start to cramp, I suggest slowing the treadmill down.

Some people have more foot problems when running uphill and others have problems when the course is dead flat for miles on end. Try to notice if your foot pain is influenced by keeping the treadmill incline flat, uphill or by varying it as if you were running a rolling course.

Also, you don’t mention if you are having foot pain in any situation besides running. It might be the shoes you wear during the day (when not running) that are contributing to your problem. I assume you replaced all of your non-running shoes as well.

If these suggestions do not help eliminate your problem; consider visiting a podiatrist that sees active athletes, including runners and triathletes. After having your baby, your foot anatomy may require a different shoe than you are currently using, or perhaps orthotics.

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