Posts

What to Eat and When During a Triathlon

This post was originally published on https://zone3.us/blogs/blog/what-to-eat-and-when-to-eat-during-a-triathlon

By Glen Gore, former pro triathlete and current coach.

 

If ever there was a hot topic of debate, it comes in the form of triathlon nutrition and more importantly, nutrition intake on race days.

What exactly do you need to eat and drink, and when?

To start this editorial piece, we need to agree that there is no magic formula that will work the same for everyone. Each of us differs in our body mechanics and the way we work with nutritional absorption that it’s almost impossible to pinpoint one clear plan that will work for everyone.

Having said that, you can still use sound advice and at least start on the right track. For us, nutrition is another important discipline in the sport of triathlon. The fastest and most finely tuned sports car in the world will go nowhere fast if there is no fuel in the tank. Similarly no matter how hard you have trained and prepared if you are going to race on zero nutrition, your body (engine) is going to slowly come to a complete stop and falter.

Rule no 1 – don’t neglect your nutritional intake on race days. It’s quite easy to “forget” to drink and eat when you are giving 100% during an all-out race effort. Just know that sooner or later, you will start to run out of energy stores and that is when racing becomes anything but fun.

Fuelling is different depending on the distance

A Sprint Distance triathlon race is completely different from an Olympic, Half, or full Ironman distance event. These distances require different amounts of training loads to be fully prepared to take on the challenge. The same rule applies to how you fuel the body during an event that takes less than 60 mins compared to an event that may take up to 17hrs.

Sprint

A sprint race normally lasts anywhere between 52 minutes for the PRO’s up to say 1.5-2hrs for the backmarkers. Most of the time – depending on weather conditions, you can get away with next to nothing in the form of intake over the sprint distance. Some hydration via a small sports bottle and perhaps 1-2 gels for the bike and run should sufficiently see you through the event.

I have often found that my best results over the sprint distance come when I go in “light” – not much food in the tank – that empty feeling but with just enough energy stores from the previous night’s meal or early morning small breakfast to see me through the event.

Hydration is always important – you never want to start any event “thirsty” so make sure the fluid levels are topped up in the form of small sips. A huge intake of fluids just before the start is not a suggested best practice for an optimum result over short distances. 

These should be taken as pure guidelines and not as hard-fast rules – these suggestions come from trial and error on the battlefield.

Olympic

When you compete in an event that spans longer than 2hrs, then you need to start looking at a more efficient fueling system.

The Olympic distance event can take anywhere from 2hrs to 3hrs plus – eating and drinking now becomes more important. If you are not fuelling adequately over the 40km cycle, you will feel the burn when you enter the hunt on the 10km run.

Some athletes require less nutritional intake than others while others may require more fluid intake. The best place to learn what your body requires is by trial and error. The more you race over this distance, the more you will learn as to what you require and when. 

Half-Distance

When the event time spans over 4hrs in duration right up to 8h30, then you will need a tried and tested method, worked on in training, to see you adequately fuelled in a race that covers a whopping 113km.

The many trained brick sessions will give you a firm indication of what will work for you on race day and what will not. It does become quite expensive when your training sessions have to mimic race days but as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. The more you practice eating and drinking over the longer distances in training, the easier the transition will be from training days to half-distance racing days.

Full IM Distance

So many athletes have “bonked” or “hit the wall” over the full IM distance simply because they ran out of fuel. The body was prepared, the mental side was in place but the “engine” for some reason was neglected.

Firstly consider that a normal day at work would require someone to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now add in 3.8km of swimming, 180km of biking, and a 42.2km marathon to top it all off, covered in a time that may span at least 17hrs. Now it becomes apparent just how much food and drink is required to keep you moving along at an optimum level.

Best Fuelling Tactics during Training

  • Find a product that works and more importantly is cost-effective. Just because it’s expensive does not mean it’s better.
  • Trial and Error – the brick session will help you develop a suitable war plan for race days. If it works in training, more than likely it will work during the race.
  • Make sure you re-fuel within 15-30 minutes after a strenuous workout. As athletes, we often neglect the post-training refueling strategy. Remember you are not only eating for today but you are eating for tomorrow’s training session as well.

Best Fuelling Tactics during Racing

  • Eat small bits and drink small sips all the time – especially during the longer races – the reason being to keep the tank on full at all times and not deplete it before you think about replenishing. 
  • Cut up your energy bars into small bite-size pieces – this is much easier to eat and digest while on the move.
  • Get in some solid food sources quickly once you are done with the swim. The longer the duration of the event, the more advisable to start the cycle with something a little more substantial than just a gel.
  • Don’t overload your bike with too much nutrition and hydration. This makes that very expensive bike extremely heavy. The bigger races have more than an ample supply of nutrition along the way – make use of it even if you need to stop briefly and take some on-board.
  • Don’t start the run in a hurry. T2 over long distances is a time where you need to relax a little and consume some solid nutrition before you head out onto the run. Whatever time you lose in transition you will more than makeup, especially when the run distance is over a full standard marathon.

Common Fuelling Mistakes

  • Eating only when hungry – this means it’s already too late. It will take you a long time to get back those lost energy stores, time which you won’t have during the race days.
  • Drinking only when thirsty. Once again, this is too late – if you are feeling thirsty you are already on the way to partial dehydration. Keep on sipping water and juice so you never get to feel that thirst.
  • Trying new stuff on race day. Stick to what you know and what you have trained on.
  • Don’t alter the nutritional plan. What you practiced in training, do the same on race day. Don’t change the formula, there is a good chance it won’t work.
  • Drinking too much. This can be a problem worse than drinking too little so take the race weather conditions on the day into account and drink what is normal for you.

Nutrition is important, a successful race plan always has a well thought out nutritional plan that goes along with it, and remember, it takes trial and error to perfect – good luck!

Click here to shop ZONE3.

Avoid Knee Pain During Triathlon Training

If you experience knee pain during your training, you’ll want to make some changes to the way you train as well as look into what could be causing the pain. The source of the pain can come from any of the three tri disciplines, so you’ll want to pay close attention to when you feel discomfort to address the problem source. While you do not have to stop training, it’s important to ease up on your training intensity and make some adjustments to the way you train to combat the pain and prevent further harm/damage to your knees. Follow these tips to avoid knee pain during your tri training.

What’s the Problem?

Tips to avoid knee pain while training for a triathlon

Knee pain is a common problem we hear about in the world of triathlon because you’re training for two sports known to cause knee pain. Best described as pain felt above, below, or behind the kneecap that is caused by overuse or misuse during specific physical activities. Knee pain is very common for triathletes, but most often stems from the incorrect form while running or cycling.  It can lead to swelling and even grinding or cracking sounds when doing any physical activity, so it’s best to get to the root of the problem before it’s too late.

Train Without the Pain

Swim

Swimming is the lowest impact on your body in a triathlon. For this reason, it’s the safest alternative to turn to when dealing with knee pain. When hitting the pool for a workout, find a swim stroke style that causes the least amount of discomfort in your knees. Swimming is also an excellent way to alleviate current pain and help you avoid causing any further damage. You can also try focusing on arm-only workouts and use a pull-buoy to avoid making the problem worse.

Bike

Knee pain is typical when riding for extended periods for any athlete. Avoid riding on hilly terrain or unpaved roads to avoid putting too much strain on your knees. Another thing that could be the cause of your knee pain is incorrect bike fit. You can fix this with minor tweaks, like correctly adjusting your saddle height. While this seems minuscule, it impacts your knees much more than you may think. Suppose you are experiencing more pain than usual when out for a ride, this is an indicator to ease up on your training rides. Deal with your current injury to prevent permanent damage.

Run

Typically, running is where athletes feel the most pain and discomfort during training. Running is known to be hard on your joints, but there are ways to reduce this to keep reaching your triathlon goals. An alternative workout for knee pain we recommend is aqua running. If running is especially painful for you, take some time to evaluate your form when you run. Make sure you’re running lightly while maintaining a comfortable stride to avoid heel-striking.

Try training with a group or with a professional coach who can watch your technique and form to help find the source of your problem. It’s always great to have people looking out for you. Plus, you’ll enjoy getting advice from those more familiar to the sport if you are just starting.

When in Doubt, Stretch It Out

Tips to avoid knee pain while training for a triathlon stretches

Pain in any joint is attributed to the tightness and strength, or lack-there-of, in the muscles around it. This is why flexibility and mobility are so essential to avoid further knee pain. There are a number of knee-specific stretches you can do. Most athletes find the effects of stretching properly essential to dealing with knee pain during training. These stretches almost instantly alleviate knee pain and can be done in front of the tv, or anywhere you’d like. You can also incorporate yoga for triathletes into your training to work on strengthening the knee while increasing your flexibility.

Take a Break When Needed

If you are experiencing extreme knee pain, take some time off when training to prevent causing permanent damage. While this may be tough or feel counteractive, you’ll thank yourself in the long run (pun intended). Pay attention to your body, and take a break if you need to. With the help of these tips, save yourself the trouble and avoid knee pain from happening down the road.

Free Motivational Phone Backgrounds for Triathletes

Get ready to get inspired by these motivational backgrounds!

Do you find yourself thinking “I’ll just work out tomorrow” or putting off fixing the flat on your bike? When exhaustion sets in, maintaining that motivation to keep up with your fitness routine can be tough. Now is the time for action and we have just the thing for you.

There’s something about an inspirational quote/phrase/saying that will really get you back on track when you are unmotivated.  Whether you’re battling with stress or lack of motivation, an inspiring wallpaper or background is a great way to give you the extra boost you need to complete a workout. 

Here are some of our favorite inspirational sayings that never fail to keep us taking another step forward whenever our body is fighting us. Be inspired and get motivated to keep being the awesome triathlete you are.

These motivational wallpapers will be there to help you stay active and help motivate you to keep training and believing in yourself!

Right click to save the image and set it as your phone background or lock screen.

Motivational Triathlon Wallpaper Background for iphones CapTex Tri Austin, Texas Motivational Triathlon Wallpaper Background for iphones CapTex Tri Austin, Texas Motivational Triathlon Wallpaper Background for iphones CapTex Tri Austin, Texas Motivation Quote Triathlon Instagram Stories CapTex Tri Motivational Backgrounds CapTex Tri Motivational Background with cyclist CapTex Tri Motivational Background with cyclist CapTex Tri Motivational Background with cyclist CapTex Tri Motivational Background with swimmer Yesterday I dared to struggle, today I dared to win.

Get motivated, anywhere, anytime all at your fingertips with our motivational backgrounds.

  1. You only regret the workouts you don’t do.
  2. Yesterday I dared to struggle, today I dared to win.
  3. Don’t stop when you’re tired, stop when you’re done. 
  4. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step
  5. It pains me to continue, but it hurts much worse to stop.
  6. All it takes is all you got.
  7. Others make excuses to quit. You make excuses to keep going. 
  8. Swim fast. Cycle strong. Run to win. 
  9. Triathletes aren’t born. They’re made.
  10. Swim. Bike. Run.

Share your Motivation

We are feeling motivated just writing this blog! Now before you run out the door to log some miles be sure to give yourself time to warm up. Starting off too quick can lead to injury and nobody wants that!

Do you have a favorite motivational quote? Share them with us and your fellow athletes in the community on our Facebook page or tag us on Instagram!

Training Tweaks to Improve Your Run Performance

Improve your run performance for your next tri

If you’re looking to improve your overall endurance when it comes to running, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll discuss a few ways to improve your run performance for your upcoming triathlon. 

Adjust Your Current Running Plan

Start by evaluating your current running abilities to establish your starting point and work from there. Then, you can determine how you will need to make adjustments to your run training. No matter how seasoned you are as a triathlete, preparation for the run leg is very similar. The most notable difference in advanced triathletes and new triathletes is the distance and duration of the runs. If you’re new to running or just got into running, try a high-intensity run to test your endurance capacity. Try to keep your pace consistent when doing so. Keep track of how long you were able to run at that pace without becoming fatigued. This is your starting point.

Improve Your Endurance

For beginners, maintaining the right pace for extended periods can be tough. We see this when athletes start too fast and fade at the end during a workout. An excellent way to learn how to maintain a new, faster pace is to do track-type workouts on a treadmill. Treadmill sessions are good for this because you’ll become used to holding your pace while dealing with fatigue. Short intervals on a treadmill while adjusting the incline can lead to an increase in your pace and speed without having to exert a ton of energy. This will especially help if your triathlon run has a hilly run course. During this time of focusing on your run, increase the number of run workouts you do in a week. Pro tip: be sure you’re warming up and cooling down for each session for the maximum payoff!

Get Used to Running on Tired LegsRunning on tired legs

Improve your run by incorporating brick workouts into your training and get out for a longer, more challenging run than usual after hard swimming or cycling sessions. Completing swimming or cycling workouts back to back with a run workout will help to familiarize your body with the movement patterns and expectations you’ll need for the day of your race. Because the run is the last leg of the tri, it’s important that you get used to running on tired legs.

Takeaway

Once you have mastered the running basics and established a starting point, you’ll start seeing improvements. Integrating these tips will likely increase your resistance to fatigue and improve your ability to run for longer periods of time at a steady pace. These tips are useful to triathletes because completing better quality speed training will lead to faster run time, and overall finishing time. With thought and planning, now is the perfect time to improve your triathlon run performance like never before.

What It’s Like to Complete a Virtual Triathlon

Everything You Need To Know About Completing a Virtual Triathlon

CapTex Tri went virtual this year, and while we know that’s not ideal, that sure didn’t stop these two from accomplishing their tri goals! The best part about a virtual triathlon: you complete it at your pace, on your time. These die-hard triathletes were determined to complete the Virtual CapTex Triathlon or Duathlon anyways, and did just that! While their approach was different, Joey did the whole thing in one day and John did it pieced together, it’s fine to do a virtual triathlon/duathlon either way. Keep reading to see how much they enjoyed their Virtual CapTex Tri experience, and hopefully you’ll be inspired to join in on Virtual races when you can!

Joey Trimyer’s Virtual CapTex Tri Journey

I wasn’t planning on doing the CapTex virtual race because my hip has been bothering me for a while. On Thursday, I saw my doctor he ordered x-rays and prescribed a round of steroids for the inflammation. I hadn’t had the x-rays yet and the steroids hadn’t had time to take effect, but when I got an email promising homemade pickles if I took the challenge and wrote a report I was in.

Sunday afternoon I loaded my gear and drove over to Govalle Park. I like doing multisport workouts here because there are several flat running routes to choose from and you are right at the head of the Walnut Creek trail.

Completing the Virtual CapTex Tri
Joey’s Game Plan

My plan was to do the sprint du: 2 mile run, 13.3 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run.

The first run was uneventful. It was super humid and I did not enjoy running in air you could eat with a fork, but then I had waited until the afternoon so I got what I deserved. There was a decent amount of walking and my hip definitely started complaining, but I got it done and got my bike ready to ride.

12.3 miles on the bike went by fairly easily. I just rode along and didn’t worry about pace. The Walnut Creek Trail is a nice out and back and I got to turn around right before the big hill which is always a good thing. One drawback to delaying until the afternoon is that you tend to encounter more cyclists and hikers clogging the path, but overall, the congestion was minimal.

The final 5k involved more jogging and walking than I would have liked, but again I got it done. Virtual events hadn’t ever really appealed to me, but given the circumstances, it was nice to have a little motivation to get out and be active.

John Chung’s Virtual CapTex Tri

I decided to change things up a bit for CapTex Tri virtual, instead of scheduling a dedicated workout for each of the disciplines of the virtual tri and go as hard as I can, I would incorporate them into my normal weekly workouts. The time would be slower but it would be interesting to see by how much of a difference.

John’s Strategy

First Run

I chose the sprint duathlon option, a distance that would easily be incorporated into my weekly workout schedule. For the first 2 mile run, I timed it during my Tuesday morning run. The workout was a Fartlek workout. After the warmup, we went straight into the interval. We start with the effort level around half marathon, gradually increasing it as the interval becomes shorter. Time for the 2 miles was 16:25. Completing the run during his virtual triathlon

Bike Ride

The bike portion was timed during a ride out to see my co-worker son’s graduation parade. The ride was through town on neighborhood streets, with red lights and stop signs. I was amazed at how much time I spent waiting and not moving. My “moving” time for the 12.3 miles was a bit over 47 minutes, total time on the bike was more than 1 hour. I spent roughly 15mins or ⅓ of the time sitting at lights or stop signs not moving.

Final Run

For the final 3.1 mile run, the time was from my weekly longish run. The run was an out and back at 9ish total miles. Since I don’t own a GPS watch, I mapped out online the section of the run to figure out the start and stop of the 3.1 miles. Time was measured for both the out and the back, and it was within minutes of each other. I was pleased with the effort considering the out was downhill and the back was uphill. The 3.1-mile time was a bit over 24 minutes.

It was fun to mix in some higher effort intervals into my routine workout to mix it up a bit and keep it interesting.

Go Virtual, Join the Fun!

As you can see, these guys made the most of their time during their virtual tri. After all, it’s a fun way to switch up your fitness routine. Also, a fun challenge if you’re for a new way to get out and be active. Since a virtual tri is completed on your own time, at your own pace, the level of intensity is all up to you.  If you participated in the Virtual CapTex Tri this year, tell us about it! We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter or tag us at #CapTexTriVirtual. We would love to hear about your experience!

Importance of Warming Up and Cooling Down

Warm-Up and Cool Down: The Basics

We know that each workout should start with a warm-up and end with a cool-down, but more often than not, athletes tend to skip one or both. Especially when pressed for time. Not incorporating a warm-up and cool-down into your training can be detrimental to your overall performance when it comes time for race day. While also puts you at the disadvantage of a much higher risk of injury. Just like giving your car time to warm up before cruising at 65 mph, your body needs this time to get in a higher gear for more intense workouts or fitness activities. Keep reading to know the importance of warming up and cooling down during your CapTex Tri training.

Why You Should Warm-Up

A warm-up before a training session or race is essential for preparing your body and mind for a workout session. The main point of a warm-up is to increase your body core temperature and muscles. Warming up will not only help you to perform better, but it will also protect your body from injury. A good warm-up gets your blood flowing and gives you a chance to get energized for the rest of your session. It also helps increase the range of motion to your joints and muscles, which should allow your muscles to feel less stressed and stiff when you start. A dynamic warmup should aim to increase blood flow to the areas which will be working and to wake up the nervous system throughout the body.

A guideline to a general warm-up routine would include:

Jogging, biking, etc. for about 5 minutes to just get your blood flowing and get those muscles and joints moving. You want to work at a comfortable pace that’s easy to moderate. For the bike, a good warm-up should consist of five to 10 minutes of easy spinning, and then slowly increasing to the gear you wish to complete your session in. This really helps “open up” your body before getting into the more strenuous part of your workout.

Why You Should Cool-Down

Don’t come to an abrupt stop when completing your exercise, especially if it has been high intensity. Instead, you should cool-down by exercising at a lower intensity than the main session to bring your body temp and heart rate back down to pre-exercise levels. The cool-down should last around five to 10 minutes no matter what discipline you are training for that day. Cooling down helps to gradually decrease your heart rate and get rid of the metabolic waste from your muscles.
Mentally, cooling down also allows you some space to reflect on your performance and gives you some time to set you up for the rest of the day. Don’t underestimate the importance of this! Pro tip: Add some stretches to your cool down while your muscles are warmed up for one of the best ways to improve your overall flexibility and mobility while also reducing post-workout pain.

Bottom Line

Group Warming Up and Cooling DownAdding a warm-up and cool down into your fitness routine is a simple, yet proven way to maximize your benefits when working out. The warm-up gives your body a chance to prepare for your session while the cool-down then helps you focus on slowing your breathing and return to your normal heart rate. Rather than seeing it as an optional part of your workout, think of warming up and cooling down as part of your session to get the most out of all the hard work you’ve put in!