An old training partner of mine from Norway used to always say that it wasn’t a good idea to rely on music while training. That was in the day of minidisc and tape players. Then came the iPod and now everyone, it seems, is heading out for their run or bike with something plugged into their ears cranking their favorite tunes. There’s even a growing industry of iPod-compatible training mixes and choreographed workouts. The Norwegian’s point was more about the philosophy of training than about safety.

However, with the recent tragic death of a jogger struck by a crashing propeller plane in South Carolina, we are forced to consider the distinct danger that cycling and running with our hearing impaired because of an iPod or any other portable device presents. In short, we must consider leaving those devices at home for a time when our total concentration is not necessary.

This recipe is great for dinner after a workout. It offers a balance of protein and carbohydrates. A combination of carbohydrates and protein helps triathletes recover from training. Glycogen and protein stores are low after a workout and this meal helps rebuild these deficits.

Pork Strips with Peanut Sauce and Rice Noodles

Rice noodles soak up liquid quickly, so if you’re not serving immediately, reserve about 1/4 cup
cooked sauce, and add to remaining pork mixture just before serving, tossing gently.

1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup reduced-fat peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chile paste with garlic (such as Sambal oelek)
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Cooking spray
4 (4-ounce) boneless loin pork chops, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 (6-ounce) package rice noodles
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
Lime wedges (optional)

Combine first 11 ingredients in a bowl, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.
Add pork and pepper; cook 6 minutes or until pork is done. Add peanut butter mixture to pan, stirring well to coat
pork; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute.
Cook rice noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Add noodles to the
pork mixture, tossing gently. Sprinkle with sliced green onions. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups pork mixture and 2 tablespoons green onions)

CALORIES 461 (31% from fat); FAT 15.8g (sat 4g,mono 4.1g,poly 1.7g); IRON 2mg; CHOLESTEROL
73mg; CALCIUM 28mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.9g; SODIUM 563mg; PROTEIN 29.6g; FIBER 2.3g

Courtesy of Cooking Light, JULY 2005

The science of training for a triathlon can be intimidating for those without a background in science or physiology. What we are always striving to do at Trismarter.com is simplify things for our clients: we do the work and create the training program so they can focus on getting the training done and remaining productive at work and home. It’s inevitable, however, that along the way, one our clients will want to learn some of the basic principles that explain why they are swimming, biking and running X number of hours per week or why they need to do that interval session. For this reason, we produce articles that break down the ideas and present them in ways that are easy to understand.

With that, we give you “VO2 Max”. Directly from the article:

“VO2 is a term that describes our body’s ability to deliver and utilize oxygen. It is a term that is thrown around amongst athletes and doctors alike. To doctors, VO2 can serve as a predictor of mortality in cystic fibrosis or in patients with heart failure. To an athlete, the maximum VO2 uptake is important as a predictor of performance and a measure of the efficacy and progression of training.”

Read more about VO2 max and why it is an important parameter in triathlon training here.

Trismarter.com Eat2Win Sports Nutritionist Bill Nadeau, MS, RD took part in a lively and entertaining interview last night with rockstartriathlete.com. The topic of the interview focused on a couple of Bill’s main interests, those being locavorism and vegetarianism and triathlon training.

For those not in the know, from the Merriam Webster dictionary-
Main Entry: lo·ca·vore
Pronunciation: \ˈlō-kə-ˌvȯr\
Function: noun
Etymology: local + -vore (as in carnivore)
Date: 2005
: one who eats foods grown locally whenever possible

In the interview, Bill discusses the concept of locavorism and the principles of maintaining an adequate training diet as a vegetarian (as well as a host of other random issues). Listen to the complete post here and feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions related to your diet and training for triathlon.

Listen to Bill’s interview with Rockstar Triathlete:

I recently attended a Grand Rounds lecture at a prestigious ivy league medical institution. The topic of the lecture was medical treatment for obesity. I wasn’t out of place in the audience as obesity treatment and prevention has long been an interest of mine. The lecturer, a very highly respected authority on the topic, eloquently highlighted all of the medical (and some surgical) treatments we have in our arsenal. The one he failed to mention is training for a triathlon.

When the concept of Tri2Lose came to me on my morning run in Central Park in 2005, I was melding some of the areas I am most interested in: nutrition, exercise and triathlon. I was, and continue to be, involved in academic research of a range of obesity treatments but Tri2Lose made the most sense as I know that adopting the triathlon lifestlye can be an effective means of inducing long-term, durable weight loss (for the right person). The (for the right person) part is not too much of an issue as the scores of people who have contacted Trismarter.com about the Tri2Lose program have already been flirting with the idea of doing something about their waistline and their sedentary lifestyle. As ridiculous and sensational as it is, television programs like “The Biggest Loser” have awakened obese individuals to the idea that it is possible to turn their lives around and improve fitness and lifestyle. In fact, I blogged months ago in a previous post about some of the exercise contests on that television program. Recently, the show’s methods have been brought into question for realistic medical concerns. The Tri2Lose program, unlike The Biggest Loser, however, is a reasonable and sound method of inducing long-term, durable weight loss. Our clients are neither starving themselves nor exercising 12 hours a day on national television. These are real-life men and women becoming part of an active community and re-learning how to eat, how to think about food and how to exercise in a way that prevents injury and allows them to cross the finish line of their first triathlon. And when we say “triathlon”, we are not talking about the ironman. It may be walking a 5k the running a 5 k, then a 10k then a sprint triathlon. It’s a gradual progression across the spectrum and it works (for the right person).

Sure, if you struggle with your weight and are considered obese you can take a medication that might lead to 10% weight loss for a year or two (and then most likely gain it back) and you can probably find a surgeon to do a bypass or banding and lose lots of weight… or you can give it some serious thought and consider changing your lifestyle for good and turning yourself into a new person.

Just back from a run in beautiful Boulder, Colorado and it reminded me of a talk I attended last week given by the ultramarathoner Scott Jurek. In his talk, at Jack Rabbit in Union Square-NYC, Scott hit on three basic principles of endurance training, those being specificity, periodization and recovery. Which brings me to my run. Altitude, at least for a flat-lander, forces you to slow down. Given that it was my first run at altitude, I intentionally backed off and just went out for a relaxed easy run. I’m looking forward to adapting to the conditions and being able to get in some good runs and bikes while I am here. For those of you who don’t know, Boulder is a mecca for triathlon.

While Scott’s talk was chock full of great images of him running in some breath-taking locales, the main points about training and nutrition were nothing new. Perhaps evidence that the elites really don’t do much that cannot be applied to the average joe? I do, however, take issue with Scott’s advice that one can train for ultra-distance events on 50-55 miles per week. Maybe some of the more gifted endurance athletes can but I think the majority of athletes require greater training volumes. In fact, Trismarter.com Eat2Win Sports Nutrionist Bill Nadeau and I were discussing this point last night. Bill was particularly interested in Scott’s talk because Scott is a vegan and Bill has been a practicing vegetarian and competitive runner himself. If you’re interested in vegetarianism and triathlon training or the concept of “locavore” check out Bill’s interview tomorrow night with rockstartriathlete.com- it is sure to be interesting.

This press release from the American Association of Dietetics is just in time for the rapidly approaching 2010 triathlon season.

“National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the American Dietetic Association. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. Registered Dietitian Day, also celebrated in March, increases awareness of registered dietitians as the indispensable providers of food and nutrition services and recognizes RDs for their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives.”

In the spirit of National Nutrition Month® and Registered Dietitian Day® (March 10, 2010), we’re excited to offer $100 OFF any of our Eat2Win Sports Nutrition Services including the popular Comprehensive Training Diet Analysis, Meal Planning Solutions and Weight Managment for Peak Performance Program. This $100 OFF offer is applicable to the first month only of any of our Eat2Win monthly services and only new clients are eligible. This offer expires at midnight on March 12, 2010.

Take a look at our expert team of dietitians and triathlon nutrition experts and contact us today for more information or to find out which service is right for you. Mention “$100 OFF” to take advantage of this special offer!

Trismarter.com Triathlon Coach Lee Gardner pointed this unique and informative module out to us on Fi’zi:k’s website. For any cyclist or triathlete that takes performance and comfort seriously, this is a must-see.

Are you a Bull, a Chameleon or a Snake?

Triathlon training , as we all know, is very physically demanding. As such, hydration is an important factor in alleviating the stress of training and to aid in recovery.  

A recent article on competitor.com highlights new research concerning the relationship between fitness level and the effects hydration status in terms of cardiovascular (heart rate) and thermoregulatory (rectal temperature) strain. This study, published in Acta Physiologica,  compared trained and untrained individuals (in terms of VO2 max) and how their hydration state, either euvolemia or hypovolemia (1.5-2.0% dehydrated based on baseline body weight) affected heart rate, rectal temperature, plasma osmolality and power.  Briefly, the results demonstrate that trained individuals fell victim to increased heart rate or temperature to a lesser degree than untrained individuals when dehydrated. However, these results also indicate that “performance power” was reduced in both trained and untrained athletes during the dehydrated arm of the study with no difference between the two groups. That is, both had lower power.

While interesting, this study has many flaws. Just to mention a few: The cross-over design is good but the sample is so small that it’s hard to say that these results really hold when applied to larger populations (all too common in the exercise physiology literature). Furthermore, the duration of the test was relatively short (40 minutes) so it is also hard to extrapolate even to an olympic distance triathlon, let alone something like 70.3 or Ironman.

The bottomline? For many physiological reasons, trained individuals just might be able to tolerate mild-moderate dehydration better than untrained counterparts but doing so would not be recommended at higher intensities or longer durations than those studied here. Keep drinking!

Trismarter.com coach, Lee Gardner, was interviewed last night by Rockstar Triathlete’s Ben Greenfield and Kerry Sullivan on triathlon lifestyle design. We have the interview available for you to listen to below, free of charge. However, over at Rockstar Triathlete, for only $1, you can gain access to this, and a whole catalog of other interviews with top coaches and athletes. It’s a pretty sweet deal!

Listen to Lee’s interview with Rockstar Triathlete:

In the interview, Ben Greenfield makes reference to one of Lee’s previously written articles about key items to consider when planning your training and racing season. If you haven’t read the article, find it here on Trifuel.com.