Hopefully I can give you a few Triathlon bike training tips that will help you prepare for your first Ironman Triathlon.
I'll repeat what I said in the triathlon bike equipment page. Be sure when you purchase I bike that it is the proper frame size for you. Also make sure that experienced bike outlet personal fit you to that bike. That's most likely one of the more important tips to remember.
Another important triathlon bike training tip to remember is if you are really stretch at the bottom of the pedal stroke, the bike is not set up properly. If you are all scrunched up and are not extending your legs far enough, the bike is not set up properly. Something as simple as raising or lowering the seat can make a huge difference to your pedal stroke. It's important to make use of all the big muscles. This will make your triathlon bike training more productive and enjoyable at the same time.
You'll find that Triathlon bike training involves much more than biking itself. Something as simple as having the bike set up properly will make your transition into the run a lot less painful.
When it comes to actually getting out on the road and beginning their triathlon bike training, many first time Ironman hopefuls have the wrong idea. You don't have to go out and cycle hundreds and hundreds of miles. Maybe one day if you decide to really go for it and try and place in your age group you might want to look at more intense training. For your first attempt at an Ironman just remember. You're not going out to set a new record for the bike split. You want to FINISH this thing and gear your triathon bike training with that in mind!
I would recommend doing one 6-8 hour ride about 8 weeks from Ironman day. Go out with a couple of people. Pack lots of food and water and plan to be gone for the day. Don't worry about how MANY miles. All you are doing is getting an idea of what it will be like to be on the bike for that long.
For the rest of the triathlon bike training year, try and bike 3 or 4 times a week. You can do 1 or 2 of those rides on a wind-trainer or at a gym on one of their exercise bikes. As your season progresses, try and plan for one longer ride of 2 or 3 hours once a week. Don't worry about how many miles. Pay more attention to actual time on the bike and finding a cadence and speed that you're comfortable with. I strongly recommend heart-monitor use on the bike.(see section on heart-monitor training). Try and stay at or below your target heart rate and your fitness level will continue to improve over time.
Be sure to try different fluid supplements and different types of solid nourishment until you find what agrees with you and then go with it. Remember that proper nourishment is an important part of your triathlon bike training. I would recommend getting used to one of the gels, because they are handy, and packed with nourishment and most likely found on every Ironman course.
As your season progresses, you should try and do one transition ride every week. The best day for this is the day you're on your wind-trainer. Ride for at least an hour and then run IMMEDIATELY after for at least half an hour. This will help you get used to the bike-run transition. Its not necessary to bike 4 or 5 hours and then run 15 miles in order to see what it feels like. Trust me, after an hour on the bike, you'll get the idea after about 4 strides into the run.
I won't kid you. There's nothing on earth that will 'truly' prepare you for what you will experience when you leave the bike transition tent and head out on your first Ironman marathon. DEAL WITH IT! YOU CAN DO THIS!
It is at about this point that you will truly be looking into the eye of the tiger. It is here that you will begin to find out what you are made of.
On a lighter note, its time to go back to Kona and tell you a bit about my first Ironman bike experience.
Its one hour before swim start. Someone said don't put air in your tires because they may burst overnight with the humidity as your bike sits in the transition zone. So here I am pumping up my tires. Being clever I had put a brand new tubes in the night before. I pumped and pumped and just like a gunshot the first tire I was pumping exploded. Like EVERYONE looked and went oh-oh. I hadn't noticed, but the tube had come right out of the tire and exploded. IT WAS THE WRONG SIZE! No problem I thought(sort of). I had a spare(one spare). I put it on. Being as I bought it at the same time as the other one, it was also THE WRONG SIZE and this time I saw it begin to bulge out of the tire. I did the only thing I could. I let air out until the tube went back into the tire and pumped the other tire up to about the same air pressure. Most likely I had about 65-70 lbs of air pressure in both my tires.
It's 4 hours later. Here I am on the King K. highway. The heat waves are massive. Its just over 100 degrees in the lava fields. Every pedal stroke I hear my tires squish into the soft asphalt. I have no spare left. My Ironman dream pretty well rests on those squishy tires. Each torrid mile merges into the next.
I feel alone. Nobody around me. I see a vision.
A beautiful Hawaiian girl in a grass skirt a few hundred meters ahead. This can't be real-- but it is. She's holding something out. My gorgeous savior. She has a sponge for me. I straighten my helmet and glide in towards her gracefully---thinking---I AM IRONMAN!--I would impress her to no end--and deftly take her precious gift from her small hand and SMASH THAT GUAVA JELLY SANDWICH ON BROWN BREAD ALL OVER THE BACK OF MY NECK!
If you're ever in Hawaii and get a chance to have lunch with a local---have a guava jelly sandwich, because they really, really pack it on.
Even to this day, I wonder what my angel in the grass skirt thought of the crazy guy on the bike. Well, it sure looked like a sponge. Give me a break.
It was such a relief when I finally reached the bike-run transition. Words can't express how the first few dozen strides into the marathon felt.
I told you a bit about my first Ironman bike for a reason....
Consider this. The furthest I ever biked in training was about 40 miles. I didn't really know how to train, how far to go or how fast I should be going. I just went until I felt tired and turned around.
I didn't really know what to eat or drink.
My bike was impossibly heavy. I had a rear tire that was missing about 40 pounds of air. I had no aero-bars---no clipless pedals. I hadn't even been on a bike for 20 years until I started training for the Ironman. My triathlon bike training was pretty well non-existent.
Yet, my bike time was 7 hours and 39 minutes. That's all you need! 7-8 hours on the bike and you are left with enough time to beat the cut-off and finish the marathon
My point is. If I could do that ride, under those circumstances than YOU CAN CERTAINLY DO THIS!! It is well within the physical limits of many people to accomplish the same feat without having to be a super athlete. If you are willing to put in the time it takes to get the most out of your triathlon bike training, and ensure that you bike is properly set up for you, most likely your first Ironman bike ride will go "way" smoother than mine did.
Don't think for a moment you need hundreds and hundreds of miles of triathlon bike training, because that's not true at all if your primary goal is to reach the Ironman finish line without worrying too much about time. There is plenty of time for that later if you decide to extend your career.
Get yourself into overall good condition and learn the basics of triathlon bike training.
--Try and bike at least two or if possible, three times a week as you start out.
--Try and do a bit longer as you get in better shape. Try one long day about 8 weeks before Ironman day.
--Get used to what you want to eat and drink on race day.
--Make sure your bike is set up properly for "you".
--Do transition bike-runs once a week.
--Keep your bike properly maintained and clean and sparkling. Just like your car it will run smoother when it's clean and you lovingly cared for it. Don't ask my why. It just does.
These are all quite easy to accomplish and extremely valuable triathlon training tips to keep in mind.
Those are my triathlon bike training tips. If a coach puts you on a program and you are happy with it, then go for it.
I'm just trying to convey that the spirit of Ironman---that amazing race day---will make you capable of more than you ever dreamed. Just being in the event, being cheered on, having prepared for this day and realizing your dream is within your grasp will more than compensate for any lack of ability or training.
ALSO, BE SURE TO VISIT MY IRONSTRUCK BOOK STORE AND HAVE A LOOK AT THE BOOKS THAT CAN GUIDE YOU AND INSPIRE YOU DURING YOUR TRIATHLON JOURNEY.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
COCONUT OIL FOR BETTER ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
After including coconut oil as a regular part of diet, I soon realized it's benefits when it greatly enhanced my training and improved my Ironman performance and recovery.
It was almost by chance that I happened upon coconut oil and it's use as a diet supplement. I was surfing the net one day and came across an article on the subject and like many other intriguing diet ideas I've stumbled upon in the past, decided to give this interesting oil a try.
I've always believed that I had no business writing about any diet unless I had tried it myself. To my way of thinking that's the only way to pass on relevant, honest information to readers. As a result I've tried a variety of different diets and supplements over the years and this is one of them. To be quite honest, I was just blown away by the results I experienced when I incorporated coconut oil into my triathlon training diet.
First a bit of science behind the coconut diet:
Coconut oil is comprised of fatty acids called "medium chain triglycerides" or MCT'S. In nature, coconut oil has the largest concentration of these MCT'S outside of human breast milk. Vegetable oils, on the other hand, are made up primarily of "long chain fatty acids" or LCT'S. For quite some time now scientific literature has claimed that LCT'S tend to produce fat in the body, while MCT'S promote what is called "thermogenesis". Thermogenesis increases the body's metabolism, producing energy.
This has been common knowledge in the animal feed business for years. It you feed animals vegetable oil, they gain weight and produce more fatty meat. If you feed them coconut oil, they will be very lean. Tests on rats published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" concluded that MCT rats gained 15% less weight than rats fed LCT'S. The conclusion:
MCT diets result in decreased body fat related to increased metabolic rate and thermogenesis. Similar tests were conducted on humans at Vanderbilt University in 1989 with the same basic results.
Regardless of scientific study result, I prefer to try these things on my own and see the results first hand.
Over twenty years of competition and numerous diets, the LEAST I ever weighed was 150-151 pounds. This was my competition weight. If I were to weigh myself on any given race morning, my weight would be in this range, give or take a pound. That all changed when I included coconut oil in my diet.
I weighed myself on the first day of the diet as I always did when I tried something new, and wouldn't step on a scale again for one month. I live by this rule when trying something different in my diet. My start weight was as usual, 151 lbs.
I added 5 tablespoons of coconut oil per day to my meals. Usually when you buy coconut oil it will be solidified. I just leave mine at room temperature and in few days the whole container is liquified. I don't store it in the fridge because it will solidify again. If it is solid, its easy enough to melt down into liquid form if you're in a hurry.
I added it to my oatmeal in the morning, to my pasta, and used it in smoothies. I always use olive oil in my salads and started adding 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to every salad. It's an amazingly versatile product. You can easily come up with your own cooking uses for it.
When you use it in food its not an unpleasant taste and most of the time you won't even know its there. Combine it with your food anyway you like, but aim for at least 5 tablespoons a day and stick with it. Like any diet, there's really not much point even starting unless you're committed to it.
Well, I did this for exactly one month. Then I stepped back on the scale. WOW! 142 pounds!
I was 10 pounds lower than I had been over the past 20 years! I "could not" believe it. Remember that for the month I used coconut oil, I was in full Ironman training. Any diet you ever try should be done in conjunction with a fitness regimen. So I believe this is an ideal addition to any Ironman's diet. Or ANY physically active person's diet for that matter.
A few things I noticed:
Along with losing weight, my energy level increased.
Even though I lost 10 pounds, I seemed to have the same amount of over-all strength. This is crucial to an athlete. What makes some athletes so amazing is their strength to weight ratio. In other words, you can be a 120 pound woman, but be very strong for that weight. Take it a step further and imagine the consequences if you become 110 lbs and don't lose any strength and have increased energy.
Imagine yourself running a marathon carrying a 10 pound bag of potatoes on your back. Now imagine running the same marathon without the bag of potatoes and more energy.
A perfect example of what I mean by strength to weight ratio is Lance Armstrong.
When he was fighting cancer he lost tons of weight of course, but when he won that battle and became healthy, he never did gain back all of the weight that he originally had. Yet, he became stronger. In other words, his strength to weight ratio changed big time. It seems that his body chemistry changed for the better.
When I watched him climb those endless mountain passes in the Tour, it was just amazing how strong he was and how high his energy and endurance levels were.
Of course we can't all be the exceptional athlete Lance was at his peak, but I truly believe that incorporating coconut oil into ones diet can have a profound effect on any athlete's training and racing results, and can also help any person burn off excess fat as long as they are active on a regular basis while they are using coconut oil in their daily diet.
I have been searching all over the internet in order to find the best source of high quality, competitively-priced coconut oil that could be shipped to all my Ironstruck visitors, no matter what country they happen to live in.
Coconut Oil Supreme™ is in a class by itself when it comes to quality, and in fact there is only one facility in the world which has both the equipment and proprietary knowledge required to produce it. It is the original "centrifuged" coconut oil which is extracted from fresh coconut milk. Although many companies now claim that their oil is produced using a centrifuge process they are not the same as Coconut Oil Supreme™. Although the quality of the oil is unsurpassed it is also considerably more expensive than generic virgin coconut oils.
By realizing a lower profit margin and finding the least expensive shipping method, Coconut Oil Supreme has managed to keep the price of their product low enough that people can afford to use it on a daily basis.
Coconut Oil Supreme currently ships all over the world using International Priority Mail and they also use special packaging which allows them to ship up to 3 lbs of oil in a flat-rate envelope for only US$13 in postage. This is a considerable savings from traditional shipping alternatives.
Coconut Oil Supreme is offering all Ironstruck visitors 10% off the retail price of all their products. Enter the discount code "ironstruck" during the checkout process. .
Visit Coconut oil Supreme and have a look at their quality coconut oil products.
It was almost by chance that I happened upon coconut oil and it's use as a diet supplement. I was surfing the net one day and came across an article on the subject and like many other intriguing diet ideas I've stumbled upon in the past, decided to give this interesting oil a try.
I've always believed that I had no business writing about any diet unless I had tried it myself. To my way of thinking that's the only way to pass on relevant, honest information to readers. As a result I've tried a variety of different diets and supplements over the years and this is one of them. To be quite honest, I was just blown away by the results I experienced when I incorporated coconut oil into my triathlon training diet.
First a bit of science behind the coconut diet:
Coconut oil is comprised of fatty acids called "medium chain triglycerides" or MCT'S. In nature, coconut oil has the largest concentration of these MCT'S outside of human breast milk. Vegetable oils, on the other hand, are made up primarily of "long chain fatty acids" or LCT'S. For quite some time now scientific literature has claimed that LCT'S tend to produce fat in the body, while MCT'S promote what is called "thermogenesis". Thermogenesis increases the body's metabolism, producing energy.
This has been common knowledge in the animal feed business for years. It you feed animals vegetable oil, they gain weight and produce more fatty meat. If you feed them coconut oil, they will be very lean. Tests on rats published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" concluded that MCT rats gained 15% less weight than rats fed LCT'S. The conclusion:
MCT diets result in decreased body fat related to increased metabolic rate and thermogenesis. Similar tests were conducted on humans at Vanderbilt University in 1989 with the same basic results.
Regardless of scientific study result, I prefer to try these things on my own and see the results first hand.
Over twenty years of competition and numerous diets, the LEAST I ever weighed was 150-151 pounds. This was my competition weight. If I were to weigh myself on any given race morning, my weight would be in this range, give or take a pound. That all changed when I included coconut oil in my diet.
I weighed myself on the first day of the diet as I always did when I tried something new, and wouldn't step on a scale again for one month. I live by this rule when trying something different in my diet. My start weight was as usual, 151 lbs.
I added 5 tablespoons of coconut oil per day to my meals. Usually when you buy coconut oil it will be solidified. I just leave mine at room temperature and in few days the whole container is liquified. I don't store it in the fridge because it will solidify again. If it is solid, its easy enough to melt down into liquid form if you're in a hurry.
I added it to my oatmeal in the morning, to my pasta, and used it in smoothies. I always use olive oil in my salads and started adding 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to every salad. It's an amazingly versatile product. You can easily come up with your own cooking uses for it.
When you use it in food its not an unpleasant taste and most of the time you won't even know its there. Combine it with your food anyway you like, but aim for at least 5 tablespoons a day and stick with it. Like any diet, there's really not much point even starting unless you're committed to it.
Well, I did this for exactly one month. Then I stepped back on the scale. WOW! 142 pounds!
I was 10 pounds lower than I had been over the past 20 years! I "could not" believe it. Remember that for the month I used coconut oil, I was in full Ironman training. Any diet you ever try should be done in conjunction with a fitness regimen. So I believe this is an ideal addition to any Ironman's diet. Or ANY physically active person's diet for that matter.
A few things I noticed:
Along with losing weight, my energy level increased.
Even though I lost 10 pounds, I seemed to have the same amount of over-all strength. This is crucial to an athlete. What makes some athletes so amazing is their strength to weight ratio. In other words, you can be a 120 pound woman, but be very strong for that weight. Take it a step further and imagine the consequences if you become 110 lbs and don't lose any strength and have increased energy.
Imagine yourself running a marathon carrying a 10 pound bag of potatoes on your back. Now imagine running the same marathon without the bag of potatoes and more energy.
A perfect example of what I mean by strength to weight ratio is Lance Armstrong.
When he was fighting cancer he lost tons of weight of course, but when he won that battle and became healthy, he never did gain back all of the weight that he originally had. Yet, he became stronger. In other words, his strength to weight ratio changed big time. It seems that his body chemistry changed for the better.
When I watched him climb those endless mountain passes in the Tour, it was just amazing how strong he was and how high his energy and endurance levels were.
Of course we can't all be the exceptional athlete Lance was at his peak, but I truly believe that incorporating coconut oil into ones diet can have a profound effect on any athlete's training and racing results, and can also help any person burn off excess fat as long as they are active on a regular basis while they are using coconut oil in their daily diet.
I have been searching all over the internet in order to find the best source of high quality, competitively-priced coconut oil that could be shipped to all my Ironstruck visitors, no matter what country they happen to live in.
Coconut Oil Supreme™ is in a class by itself when it comes to quality, and in fact there is only one facility in the world which has both the equipment and proprietary knowledge required to produce it. It is the original "centrifuged" coconut oil which is extracted from fresh coconut milk. Although many companies now claim that their oil is produced using a centrifuge process they are not the same as Coconut Oil Supreme™. Although the quality of the oil is unsurpassed it is also considerably more expensive than generic virgin coconut oils.
By realizing a lower profit margin and finding the least expensive shipping method, Coconut Oil Supreme has managed to keep the price of their product low enough that people can afford to use it on a daily basis.
Coconut Oil Supreme currently ships all over the world using International Priority Mail and they also use special packaging which allows them to ship up to 3 lbs of oil in a flat-rate envelope for only US$13 in postage. This is a considerable savings from traditional shipping alternatives.
Coconut Oil Supreme is offering all Ironstruck visitors 10% off the retail price of all their products. Enter the discount code "ironstruck" during the checkout process. .
Visit Coconut oil Supreme and have a look at their quality coconut oil products.
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