Training Videos

The newest feature for Break Through Multisport is our series of training videos that are loaded onto YouTube. All videos are free to all, make sure to check them all out. I've put up 6 so far, with a lot more in production as I type! Click here to see all the training videos.

Here's the Catch Up Drill video

Nutrition for a 3+ Hour Brick in Hot and Humid Weather

An athlete I coach who is preparing for her first Ironman in Arizona this year asked me this question earlier today: "How should my nutrition be for tomorrow...should I just drink water and have GU...do I drink water with that nuun or that other thing with gu? Do I try and eat a bar while out there?" The workout she is referring to is a 3000 meter swim, 2.5 hour bike and 30 minute run off the bike in St. Louis where the heat index is supposed to be around 96 degrees with the humidity in the upper 50% area. My reply is below.

For nutrition, you want to start out with a bottle full of carbohydrate solution per hour- something like Infinit's Ironman Distance Formula. You can get 20% off your order on Infinit if you click the Infinit logo on the
Break Through Multisport homepage. You can supplement your fluid intake with water or water with Nuun or Zym. I prefer the Nuun or Zym since it gets some extra electrolytes into your system. If you like the gels, pop one 45' into the bike and chase it with at least 6-8 ounces of water (not sports drink) and then again at 1:30 and again at 2:15 (every 45'. Make sure you are drinking water with each gel to prevent dehydration.

Once you get off the bike, you can carry a water bottle or if you have a Fuel Belt, that is good too. Load the FB with half the bottles with water and the other half with a sports drink. If you go with the water bottle only, I would go with water since the run is only 30'.

So another key issue is what you eat and drink AFTER the workout to set you up for success on Sunday. You NEED to drink a LOT of water and eat some healthy food all day after the workout to make sure you get rehydrated and refueled. Chocolate milk is a great recovery drink prior to hopping in the shower after the workout. After that, healthy carbs, lean protein and more water all day.

There are three main goals that you want to accomplish nutritionally immediately afterwards (within 30 minutes):
1. Replace your glycogen stores (carbs stored in the body): There are two types of carbs that we are going to want you to ingest:
a. High Glycemic Index (glucose based; sugars in potatoes, rice, grains, Corn Flakes, Cheerios, waffles and bagels): these will get into you system quickly
b. Low Glycemic Index (fructose based; fruit, fruit juices, milk, yogurt, apples, peaches, beans): provides a steady release of glucose into your system over a longer period of time. Make sure at least one serving of fruit is available, this will also help to re-equilibrate your bodies pH level.
We want you to get at least 3/4 of a gram of carbs per pound of body weight. The initial source should be in a liquid form (Infinit Recovery formula), the liquid version gets into you system faster.
2. Rehydrate and replace electrolytes after the workout: On average, endurance athletes will sweat out 1.5 liters of fluid per hour. It is difficult at best to replace all the fluids you lost in the first 30 minutes. You should try to replace 150% of the fluid that you lost during the workout over the first 2-3 hours post-exercise. Start out with 16 ounces of water (with Nuun) for each pound of fluid you lost.
3. Branched Chain Amino Acid support (BCAA's): BCAA's will assist in muscle repair. I would recommend some BCAA supplement pills, they are relatively inexpensive.

To determine your own sweat rate, click here to read an article by Assistant Coach Laura Koerner on calculating your sweat rate.

The Road to Kona; Chicago Edition #3

Welcome to another week on the road to Kona... This week I learned the importance of the extra training that doesn't appear on the training schedule. Over the past three years, I've had plantar fasciitis, tight IT bands and a sprained rotator cuff. The common element in each - a lack of the "extra" stuff like using a foam roller or functional strength training. I used to fall into the habit of doing my workout, then going home and usually taking a nap. Well, this year I am making a change and finding time for all the extra stuff. I started by visiting Liz Yerly at Accelerated Rehab for some help with my IT Bands. It is still early in the season and I didn't want to have an injury slow me down so soon, and Liz and Accelerated really helped me learn some great functional strength training and Active Release Therapy that has made a real difference with my IT bands.

I am also a big fan of the Trigger Point products, especially when our Chihuahua Katie tags along.

What is hyponatremia?

Hyponatremia is a very real condition that every endurance athlete must be aware of. Hyponatremia is defined as an electrolyte imbalance or disturbance in which sodium concentration in the plasma (blood) is too low. So what do we need to know about hyponatremia?

Hyponatremia in terms of endurance sports, is normally caused by drinking too much water. That sounds contradictory to the “make sure to drink a lot of water” that everyone hears when cycling and running. In general, the longer the training session or race, normally greater than 4 hours, the higher the chances of this happening. In the last 10 years, there have been two reported deaths during a marathon due to “overhydration-induced” hyponatremia. In both cases, the runners were on the slower side of the marathon and had been on the road for several hours.

Hyponatremia can be a result of prolonged diarrhea or vomiting due to gastrointestinal (GI) distress during exercise or more likely, during endurance events, the excessive intake of fluids, especially water.

So how does this happen? Athletes can definitely take in too much water while training and racing. Hyponatremia can be difficult to determine since the warning signs come on slowly. Early symptoms include headache, cramps, nausea, confusion, disorientation, reduced coordination and tunnel vision to name a few. Another sign to look out for is bloating- look around your watch, rings, sock bands and elastic wastebands.

So how do we prevent this while staying hydrated? Simply balance water intake with salt (sodium) intake. The most scientific way to ensure you are getting enough salt is to calculate your sweat rate. You can assume that a pint of sweat or one (1) pound of body weight lost contains around 500 milligrams (mg) of sodium. A 16-ounce drink (most water bottles are either 21 or 24 ounces) which is 480 milliliters (mL), you should aim for up to 500 mg’s of sodium. This can come from naturally salt foods or sodium supplement capsules. Sports drinks, electrolyte tablets or gels are not enough in by themselves, you will have to find the right combination.

In general, you want to experiment with different nutritional products and sources until you find the right mix. After you’ve found that right mix, make sure you rehearse your nutritional plan during training so there is no mystery about what is going to happen on race day.

Bike Fit Screen Shot

I was at Element Multisport the other day when Chris and Dave were fitting a young lady on her road bike. It's quite a system that they have at Element for the bike fit. This lady had opted for the Retul fit which takes advantage of some video game like "motion sensors" that utilize infra-red LED's to capture you motion at specific locations on the skeleton. The main points the Retul system is attached to is the foot, ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow and wrist.

The Retul system pick up the LED signals every 2.1 milliseconds (476 times per second) and is transmitted to the sensor and computer in real-time, relaying actual angles in a 3D fashion.

The lady that I was watching get fit has some fairly serious biomechanical issues with the fit she had recently recieved when she had purchased her Canondale down the street.

To the left is the screen shot that was pulled off the computer after the fit. If you look closely at the circled area, that is the path that the knee sensor was taking before and after her fit.

On the left, you can see a figure eight pattern. Her knee was coming up and in on the up-stroke, back to the outside, then back relativley straight and then started the loop back to the outside.

If you knee is wiggling in a figure-8 pattern like this, you are loosing a lot of power while increasing your risk for a knee injury.

After her fit, you can see the path that her knee was taking (right side) with the elimination of the figure-8 pattern, which has increased her power and efficiency! The fix was as simple as placing a 1.5mm Varus shim between (thicker on the inside, thinner on the outside).

If you are going to spend more than $200 on a bike fit, it would make sense to me to use the Retul system in conjunction with a certifified bike fitter.

Another HUGE week for Break Through Athletes

Wow, what another huge week for Break Through Athletes!

At the Rockman 1/2 Iron race, Coach Mike set a new PR and Rob Wurth completed his first ever 1/2 IM in a solid 4:42

At the US Women's Tri in Naperville, Christine Davis completed her first triathlon! She said "I got tired of saying 'on your left' all day!"

At the Kansas 70.3- Jeff Mote hammered out a 5:22 for a new PR and Cameron Schafer thew down a 4:22 to finish 4th in the Collegiate National 1/2 IM race (37th overall)!

Great job guys, keep up the good work!

The Road to Kona; Chicago Edition #2

I am occasionally asked what it is like to train for an Ironman. Of course there is periodized training, heart rate and watts per kilogram. However, for some reason the question always comes up about how early I wake up to get my training in. It seems the general public, and a lot of coaches, feel that training has to occur before 5 am. Personally, I like to sleep in. Sure, there are those long bike days and early morning race starts, but otherwise, I feel I can get the same workout in around noon as I do early in the morning. I mention this because this morning we ran the Chicago 13.1 half marathon. We had to wake up around 4 am to get the dogs out, eat breakfast and catch the bus to the start. My schedule had me running for 45 minutes, but we signed up a while back for this race and figured I'd just take it easy and enjoy the run. The first few miles I was really tired and generally not in a good mood. Should I just run for 45 minutes and stop? Why did I even get out of bed? Then I took a deep breath and figured it will be good mental training for Kona, which really means that I gathered a little pride and kept running. While a simple 1/2 marathon makes up around 9% of the total Ironman distance, it is still a respectable race that can't be taken mailed in. While Kona is still four months away, the next 4 - 6 weeks of training will be key to solidify my base and prepare for those early mornings to get in those 6 hour bike rides.