Archive for August, 2006
Portland, Oregon to serve as host of 2007 and 2008 events August 18, 2006 — The 2007 and 2008 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships will be held at Hagg Lake, just outside Portland, Oregon, USAT Executive Director Skip Gilbert announced today. The 2007 event is scheduled for Saturday, June 30. The 2008 race date is yet to be determined. The Age Group National Championship is one of the most competitive amateur triathlons contested at the Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) in the United States. Close to 1,000 athletes, representing all 50 states, compete each year for their chance to be crowned a national champion. This is only the second time the race has been held in the Pacific Northwest (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 2001 and 2002). The 2006 event was held at Smithville Lake outside Kansas City, Mo. “In searching for the next great home for USAT’s National Championship in age group triathlon, we looked for a community that truly reflected the multi-sport lifestyle,” said Gilbert. “We found that and more in Portland. We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing the Super Bowl of our sport to the city and hopeful that the community will respond with the same level of excitement in welcoming our country’s best.” Hagg Lake has a long relationship with multi-sport. In 1982, The Hagg Lake Triathlon, known for its scenic and challenging course, was one of the stops on the six-city Bud Light Triathlon Series Tour, which criss-crossed the country through the mid-90s and played an integral part in jumpstarting the sport of triathlon in the Northwest. The winning bid was submitted by the Oregon Sports Authority, whose mission is to define the state of Oregon as the preferred location for select amateur and professional sports events. They have hosted events such as the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, FIFA Women’s World Cup Soccer and this weekend’s Dew Action Sports Tour, among others, bringing more than $100 million to the Oregon economy. “We’re delighted that our nation’s finest triathletes will have the opportunity to compete within the majestic beauty of Oregon as we host the USAT Age Group National Championships,” said Drew Mahalic, executive director of the Oregon Sports Authority. “We anticipate that these Championships will set a new standard of excellence in athletic performance and satisfaction among the triathletes. We are honored that USAT selected the Oregon Sports Authority to serve as the host.” The event will once again be the sole qualifier for ITU World Championships. The 2007 Worlds are scheduled for September 1-2 in Hamburg, Germany. The top 16 in each age group will qualify. 2005 results for Hagg Lake Triathlon
By Cliff English August 9, 2006 — You spent a large portion of the off-season and pre-season phases building a sound aerobic base and boosting your strength. Now, in the competitive phase, you need to shift your focus to tempo and race-pace run training. Below, we present a few key run sessions you can begin five weeks out from your goal race (assuming you will also include a two-week taper). If you have never run on a treadmill, I suggest you try this (in lieu of hitting the track) for a few of the below run workouts. The treadmill allows you to accurately dial in your pace while allowing you to monitor vitals such as heart rate, speed and cadence — all in a controlled environment.
Week 1 Fartlek session: 40-55 minutes Cadence brick: 30 minutes Recovery/Technical session Tempo: 65 minutes Aerobic base-builder: 75 minutes · 15-minute warm-up · 2-4 x 90 seconds at AT with 90 seconds easy recovery · 60 seconds at > AT with 60 seconds easy recovery · 30 seconds at > AT with 30 seconds easy recovery · 1-minute easy jog · Speeds for 90-, 60- and 30-second segments should increase as duration shortens · 12-minute cool-down
· After a bike session do… · 3-5 x 3 minutes at 94-plus cadence at tempo effort. Jog 2 minutes easy between work intervals · 10-minute cool-down · 10-minute warm-up · 10 minutes drills and strides · 10-minute cool-down · This can be done in a grassy field · 15-minute warm-up · 4-8 x 30-second accelerations with 75 seconds easy after each work interval · 5 x 5 minutes @ 10K pace with 2 minutes easy jog after each work interval · 10-minute cool-down · Cut back on the duration of the long run and increase the effort a little for this session · 15-minute warm-up · 30 minutes at aerobic base pace · 15 minutes at half-marathon pace · 15-minute cool-down
Week 2 Intervals: 50 to 65 minutes Cadence brick: 30 minutes Recovery/Technical session Tempo: 65 minutes Aerobic base-builder: 80 minutes · 15-minute warm-up · 5-8 x 2.5 minutes with a 1.5-minute recovery jog after each effort · Efforts should be at 5K race pace · 15-minute cool-down
· After a bike session do… · 3-4 x 3 minutes at 94-plus cadence at tempo effort. Jog 1 minute easy between work intervals · 10-minute cool-down
· 10-minute warm-up · 10 minutes drills and strides · 10-minute steady-state effort on trails · 10-minute cool-down · 15-minute warm-up · 4-8 x 30-second accelerations with 75 seconds easy after each work interval · 4 x 7 minutes @ 10K pace with 3 minutes easy jog after each work interval · 10-minute cool-down · Cut back on the duration of the long run and increase the effort a little… · 15-minute warm-up · 30 minutes at aerobic base pace · 10 minutes at half-marathon pace · 5 x 45 seconds at 10K pace on 2 minutes · 15-minute cool-down
Week 3 Intervals: 60 to 70 minutes Cadence brick: 30 minutes Recovery/Technical session Tempo: 80 minutes Aerobic base-pace mixer: 85 minutes · 15-minute warm-up · 6-8 x 3 minutes with a 2-minute jog after each work interval. Efforts should be at 5K race pace · 15-minute cool-down
· After a bike session do… · 10 minutes at 94-plus cadence at tempo effort · 20-minute cool-down · 10-minute warm-up · 10 minutes of drills and strides · 15-minute steady-state effort on trails · 10-minute cool-down
· 15-minute warm-up · 4-8 x 30-second accelerations accels on 75 seconds · 2 x 12 minutes @ 10K pace with 3 minutes easy after each work interval · 4 x 3 minutes at 8K pace · 2-minutes easy · 10-minute cool-down
· Cut back on the duration of the long run and increase the effort a little · 15-minute warm-up · 30 minutes at aerobic base pace · 15 minutes at half-marathon pace · 5 x 60 seconds at 8K pace on 2 minutes · 15-minute cool-down
This report filed - July 31, 2006 What’s the easiest way to get a faster run? Stop slowing down. Sounds simple enough, but many runners slow their speed unintentionally by landing with a foot strike that is too far forward, causing the body to use more energy to regain acceleration during push-off. This habit is known as braking, and few runners realize just how much this inefficient tendency can affect performance-that is, until they learn to take the brakes off. But if you can ease upon your pedals and learn to change your stride mechanics, the payoff for good form is huge: more speed, less risk of injury and a smoother, more effective stride. The Too-Far-Forward Foot Strike When your lead foot first makes contact with the ground, your other leg is not in the proper position to provide propulsion; instead, your body must wait until it can glide over the foot before pushing off the ground. Swinging your lead foot too far forward forces your body to make up for an increased differential of having to meet your lead leg, a tendency that sacrifices precious energy and increases the time for turnover. In addition, the body also has to use more power to push off the ground to make up for lost acceleration. Reaching too far forward with your lead foot also puts your extended leg more in line with the forward movement of your body weight, which can significantly maximize the stress to your body upon impact. When your foot hits the ground, your body mass is moving forward and down, and an out-front foot strike will lessen the optimal amount of deflection you need to minimize the impact of your bodyweight. Instead, by creating a small angle of displacement with a forward foot, your landing impact delivers a direct blow to your entire body. By moving the foot strike back underneath your hips, you give your body a greater angle of displacement, decreasing the landing impact and, at the same time, provides a better maintenance of momentum. While moving your foot strike back may not seem like a complicated adjustment, the technique is much more difficult to implement than most athletes imagine. Most runners reach forward with their feet in an attempt to artificially lengthen their stride-but efficient runners increase their stride length by increasing the power of their push-off, not by elongating the range of their motion. If you watch professional runners in a race, you’ll notice how narrow the angle is between their legs. Even at high speeds, the foot of an elite runner never reaches too far forward, which dramatically limits how wide he or she can open the legs. Changing Your Gait The most effective way to condition your body to land with your foot underneath your hips is to add form-specific drills to your training. To complete the following drill, start by running in place in a stationary jog as you focus on striking your feet beneath your body. Slowly transition to a forward walking movement before increasing your pace gradually to a slow running stride. Practicing the technique at slow speeds forces you not to waste any momentum since you have to place the lead foot right beneath the body-when it’s this slow, you won’t be able to let the foot hover in your forward atmosphere. See our sidebar on the previous page for another stride-specific drill that also teaches proper foot placement. A Little Problem Called Going Backwards Conversely, when an efficient runner strikes the ground, his or her foot is already moving backwards before the foot strikes the ground below the hips. Efficient runners swing their legs only slightly to the front of their hips, proactively pulling their lead leg backwards toward the ground before their foot strikes. The technique is more effective at maintaining fast speeds since it’s easier to accelerate your foot backwards when it’s un-weighted (i.e., before it lands) than when it’s already on the ground. But learning to pull the foot backwards before foot strike is difficult to do at slow speeds. Instead, practice the technique at moderately fast paces. The key is to focus your concentration on the degree to which your body brakes. You’ll know you’ve reached success in pulling your foot backward at the right time when that sensation of premature slowing begins to diminish. Improving your stride mechanics not only increases speed and efficiency, adopting proper technique also reduces impact stress and minimizes your risk of injury and the frequency of post-workout soreness. The next time you head out on a run, make a conscious effort to ease off the brakes: Your body can a better job at driving with proper running form. Improve Your Foot Strike
7/31/2006 After 6 weeks of feeling extremely tired, more tired and more tired and dozens of doctors and bloodworks, I was diagnosed with CMV, Cyto-Megalo-Virus. I had been feeling really fatigued and thought I possibly had pushed the body too hard in training and took a couple of easy days after Nationals at the end of June. Only problem was I did not freshen up. I seemed to feel even worse and I had a round of blood work done, then guessing anemia. Problem was I eat red meat and I love it. So I was gonna be surprised if that was the cause. Something just was not right as each day my resting heart rate was high, and even going easy, my heart rate would jump up in the 99% for me. I then had 3 days off leading into Edmonton World Cup hoping that would help and added an iron supplement and vitamins as a final hope. Well my day there was cut short due to a flat tyre on the bike, but I struggled in the swim and even on the bike to ride up. Kelly was on the phone with the doctor the minute we landed in Denver and we went straight to his office for more tests. It was one evening when I was talking to my friend Joanna Zeiger and she thought her dad might offer some imput. He suggested we test for CMV due to our child being under the age of one. Children are the transporters or carriers of the virus and show no signs or symptoms. Lachey is 10 months and well, I was willing to try anything as I was getting depressed. This was the week after Minnesota, when I had fallen going into the water and could not recover to be in the race. I dropped out after the bike. I was starting to realize that I could not train properly and that was really getting to me. I would head out for a ride and have to turn around and struggle home. I wasnt Matt Reed. I knew I had to head to Cornerbrook but I knew going in that my hematocrit was down to 38 and that was not a sign in my favor. Cornerbrook was a bad move. I went backwards from the start. I then arrived home to find out I had to head directly to the doctor again. Diagnosis: Cyto-Megalo-Virus. Finally, things were making sense. Thanks Dad Zeiger. Okay I had an answer. Yeah. Now I had to figure out how to deal with the virus. It appears that I had it in June looking at my training logs and most of the time the virus is a 6-8 week cycle. I have been feeling better day by day and back to aerobic training. Soon, Matty will be back. In a big way I promise. Remember I am 6′5″!!!! Thanks to all my buds for keeping my spirits up- Atko- thanks for coming to visit us in Boulder! H-Dogg- u da man! Willy Smith- thanks for the laughs, not the bad smells. And to my sponsors, Speedy Reedy on the Road again very soon. Be safe, stay training and see you all soon. Matty Matt @ 9:36 pm
Hmmmm…I have been going through very similar symptoms this summer. It seems that everytime I stress my body with the ‘usual’ work-out intensity, that I end up with a sore throat, fatigue, trouble recovering…. It’s been enormously frustrating! I assumed it was over training although I had some doubts as my motivation levels were still high and I had been getting some rest. I too had the bloodwork done, thinking maybe I was anemic. When all my tests came back normal I was almost upset as this did not expaln what the heck was wrong with me! It is a horrible thing for a triathlete to be stripped of his endurance powers…it creates an idenity problem and forces me to do what I hate…be lazy, lay around and rest all day. I am on some anti-biotics now, which won’t help if it is a virus but at least I can rule out a bacteria infection. After my second ‘10 days of rest’ in just over a month, I finally beat the lingering infection. I hope it doesn’t crop up again the moment I start training at a moderate to hard level…. Kevin Everett
By Julian Quintas Prevention is the best treatment for the overtraining state. Tapering the training regimen combined with rest, proper nutrition, and sleep helps the body heal. Recognition and treatment of OVERTRAINING is important. Periodization of training with enough recovery should prevent overtraining if other stressors and their influence on recovery are also taken into consideration. Periodization means that correct loads of training stimulus are administered followed by adequate recovery periods. If the overtraining state persists in spite of all efforts to prevent it, effective treatment is needed. The best treatment is to rest and avoid sport-involving activities for approximately two weeks. After the resting period, you can start light training. Athletes should try different sports, refraining from the training modality and intensity that caused the overtraining state. Training should progress very slowly, with the pace determined by carefully listening to the athlete’s feelings. Athletes should forget the past and concentrate on the future. Otherwise, they can easily start comparing their performance and feelings to the time before the overtraining state, inducing a neurotic attempt to recapture the previous feeling, This also happened to me once I started training again and after five weeks I was overtrained again. Professional psychological help is sometimes recommended for athletes who are seeking to overcome an overtraining problem. Depression is one of the biggest psychological problems among overtrained athletes. Training history, discussions with coaches and other athletes, and a family history can help clarify this question. Overtrained athletes, however, should get therapy for depression as soon as possible because it can speed up the recovery. Adequate nutrition is one of the most important background factors behind a positive training effect and is also very important for overtrained athletes. If the diet is balanced, additional supplements and nutritional modifications have not been proven to speed recovery. The most common deficiency, especially in female endurance athletes, is iron, zinc, and magnesium. Calcium deficiencies have also been reported in endurance athletes, especially those who deliberately restrict their diets. In those cases, supplementation is needed. Adequate sleep is important during recovery. All additional stressors should be minimised. Travelling can increase tiredness, but in some cases, changing the environment and finding new hobbies can be good for recovery. Increased sexual activity may aid a recovering athlete, as it relaxes and modulates neurotransmitters beneficially. Massage and thermotherapy (including sauna bathing) are widely used to speed recovery. However, if an overtrained athlete feels exhausted and phlegmatic (that was a refined word I found on the dictionary to describe unemotional disposition), it is better to refrain from these therapies for several weeks. Powerful massage is also a type of exertion for muscles and may slow the recovery process. A good and simple strategy, in which athletes simply monitor their feelings of fatigue and reduce their training whenever lethargy persists for more than a day or two, unfortunately doesn’t work all the time. The problem is that athletes often report that they are feeling great on the day immediately before they slip into the overtrained state, again that’s something I have done before! Fortunately, researcher Heikki Rusko has developed another way to check for overtraining, and the new technique is very easy to carry out. After working closely with elite cross country skiers, some of whom became over-trained during thirteen weeks of intensified training, Rusko developed a simple ‘orthostatic test’ which can often foretell the troubling condition. To perform Rusko’s test, you simply lie quietly for 10 minutes at the same time every day while monitoring your heart rate, which should stay constant during the 10-minute period, preferably in the morning when you first wake up. You then stand up and check your heart rate exactly 15 seconds after standing, and then again during the period 90-120 seconds after standing (a Polar heart monitor works best for this, although you could also manually count your heart rate). If you use a heart rate monitor, you should determine your AVERAGE heart rate during the period 90-120 seconds after standing up; for example, if your heart rate is 92 beats per minute 90 seconds after standing and 88 beats per minute 30 seconds later. The average 120-second heart rate would be 90. Rusko found that athletes often develop higher than usual standing heart rates shortly before they descend into the overtrained condition. Usually, the most severe changes are in the 90- to 120-second heart rates, which increased by more than 10 beats per minute for many of the athletes who subsequently overtrained. This rise in heart rate wasn’t sudden, however; it often took place over a period of about four weeks, giving athletes ample time to ease back on the training throttle. So if you use your heart rate monitor and a training log you could monitor overtraining and prevent it. Why would such heart-rate accelerations be a warning sign for overtraining? Keep in your mind that pulse rate is controlled by the nervous system, and the nervous system is one of the first three systems to show signs of overtraining. Thus, nervous system irregularities show up as changes in heart rate, which you can monitor quite easily, without the need for expensive endocrine or immune system tests. You can do this with one of Polar heart rate monitors. Another form of checking overtraining is to know your zones on your heart rate monitor. Lets say you know your heart rate is about 145 BPM while running 1km in the track (no hill so Heart Rate is more constant). You will know if you’re getting fitter when your heart rate decreases while running at the same speed or when your speed is higher at the same Heart Rate. One way to keep this controlled is to note down your average heart rate during training sessions. If you use your training log you can keep track of your progress and always go back to it to check what you progress is like. Train Smart! Train Safe! |