Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Amazing article on fueling for race day
I respect Joel Friel and his work. On 7/08 he released an article that explains a lot about training and race day nutrition.
Fuel for Long Races
The longer the event is, the more critical race-day nutrition is to your performance. For competitions lasting less than about an hour little is needed other than water. As the duration of the event extends beyond one hour carbohydrate and fluids become increasingly important. For events longer than about six hours refueling the body is often as important to success as how fit and rested you are.
So what should you take in during a long race in order to maintain your intensity at a high level for the duration? The dilemma you face is deciding how to balance intensity against fuel. For example, if you go slowly enough (such as casually walking a marathon) you can eat and drink almost anything you want and your gut will process it. Want a greasy hamburger with french fries and a beer? No problem! But the faster you go the less your gut will be able to process so the more carefully you must choose your fuel. The reason for this is that the body has several demands being placed on all systems and there is competition for the precious resources which are delivered typically by the blood. For example, the muscles are demanding oxygen and carbohydrate to continue contracting at a high rate. At the same time your body is building up heat and trying to shed it. How does it do that? It shunts blood to the skin where it releases heat into the surrounding air thus cooling you off a bit. If you are taking in food, whether liquid or solid, the stomach and intestines are also requesting blood to process and transport the fluids and fuel. And there are other systems also demanding blood. So it's no wonder that athletes often experience GI problems of various types during long, endurance events. There simply aren't enough resources to go around, and given the choice the body prefers to use the blood to cool you and keep the muscles going. The gut is of secondary importance.
So your challenge in preparing for a long race is to determine what it is your gut can best handle at the pace you will be racing. The faster you go, the more this fuel source should be in liquid form since that is the easiest to process in the gut. Solid food requires water to dilute it so that it may be digested. Guess where most of that water comes from if you don't drink enough. The blood.
Your training while building up to a long race must include some long workouts done at race effort. Not only are you trying to become more fit by doing these but you should also be experimenting with fuel types to see what is going to work best for you on race day. Then, when race day finally arrives, you must stick with the pacing and refueling plan developed in training. I often hear athletes who DNF with a complaining gut say, "But it worked for me in training!" So something changed from the workouts to the race. What was it? More than likely it was pacing. The athlete simply went out too fast and the body couldn't deal with all of the demands placed on it. So the stomach "shut down."
It never ceases to amaze me at how important pacing is to long-distance, steady-state events and how little athletes do to pace themselves appropriately, especially early in the race. It's the key to almost everything necessary for success including refueling.
Fuel for Long Races
The longer the event is, the more critical race-day nutrition is to your performance. For competitions lasting less than about an hour little is needed other than water. As the duration of the event extends beyond one hour carbohydrate and fluids become increasingly important. For events longer than about six hours refueling the body is often as important to success as how fit and rested you are.
So what should you take in during a long race in order to maintain your intensity at a high level for the duration? The dilemma you face is deciding how to balance intensity against fuel. For example, if you go slowly enough (such as casually walking a marathon) you can eat and drink almost anything you want and your gut will process it. Want a greasy hamburger with french fries and a beer? No problem! But the faster you go the less your gut will be able to process so the more carefully you must choose your fuel. The reason for this is that the body has several demands being placed on all systems and there is competition for the precious resources which are delivered typically by the blood. For example, the muscles are demanding oxygen and carbohydrate to continue contracting at a high rate. At the same time your body is building up heat and trying to shed it. How does it do that? It shunts blood to the skin where it releases heat into the surrounding air thus cooling you off a bit. If you are taking in food, whether liquid or solid, the stomach and intestines are also requesting blood to process and transport the fluids and fuel. And there are other systems also demanding blood. So it's no wonder that athletes often experience GI problems of various types during long, endurance events. There simply aren't enough resources to go around, and given the choice the body prefers to use the blood to cool you and keep the muscles going. The gut is of secondary importance.
So your challenge in preparing for a long race is to determine what it is your gut can best handle at the pace you will be racing. The faster you go, the more this fuel source should be in liquid form since that is the easiest to process in the gut. Solid food requires water to dilute it so that it may be digested. Guess where most of that water comes from if you don't drink enough. The blood.
Your training while building up to a long race must include some long workouts done at race effort. Not only are you trying to become more fit by doing these but you should also be experimenting with fuel types to see what is going to work best for you on race day. Then, when race day finally arrives, you must stick with the pacing and refueling plan developed in training. I often hear athletes who DNF with a complaining gut say, "But it worked for me in training!" So something changed from the workouts to the race. What was it? More than likely it was pacing. The athlete simply went out too fast and the body couldn't deal with all of the demands placed on it. So the stomach "shut down."
It never ceases to amaze me at how important pacing is to long-distance, steady-state events and how little athletes do to pace themselves appropriately, especially early in the race. It's the key to almost everything necessary for success including refueling.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Generation UCAN
Alright guys one of my biggest road blocks the last few months has been supplements. Some taste great, but are loaded with sugar, and don't last as long as they are intended. Others taste horrible and most of the time your not even going to give it a second thought as it doesn't get past the gag reflex. I have recently been introduced to a product that I am really excited about. "Generation UCAN products will sustain energy balance, maintain glucose levels and control food cravings." (UCAN WEBSITE)
Proof is in the pudding
Tonight I swam 4000 meters. Aprox. 30 min prior to I had their lemonade Sports Drink. I took my insulin pump off 10 min prior to engaging in the swim. My Blood sugars were a text book 130. It wasn't a strenuous swim but it was long. About half way in I had a 1/4 of another bottle (Lemonade). After finishing my swim I finished off the remaining 3/4, and consumed a Chocolate protein drink mix while not bolusing for it. My Blood sugars were 145 getting out. Most stoked about the results two hours later. Normally after being off the pump and consuming what I would normally drink my blood sugars generally would run low to mid 200's but this evening they are a steady in the 130's.
Proof is in the pudding
Tonight I swam 4000 meters. Aprox. 30 min prior to I had their lemonade Sports Drink. I took my insulin pump off 10 min prior to engaging in the swim. My Blood sugars were a text book 130. It wasn't a strenuous swim but it was long. About half way in I had a 1/4 of another bottle (Lemonade). After finishing my swim I finished off the remaining 3/4, and consumed a Chocolate protein drink mix while not bolusing for it. My Blood sugars were 145 getting out. Most stoked about the results two hours later. Normally after being off the pump and consuming what I would normally drink my blood sugars generally would run low to mid 200's but this evening they are a steady in the 130's.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Attitude of Gratitude
The world has thrown curve ball after curve ball and continues to challenge or existence. Finding the diversions that help us overcome our daily struggles to make life more manageable is the key. It helps you take the focus of things for a brief moment so that when you come back to it you feel rejuvenated and ready to take it on but even stronger than the day before.
As most of you know running and triathlons have been my solace, but I have felt for some time I have been missing something. Something that motivates me even more so do be the man I want to be. To be the father, husband, Son, individual that I want and desire to be. Insulindependence has helped pump life back into my system. Has helped me to be a more competitive diabetic athlete, has give me the drive to be a stronger individual. With the upcoming Holiday and a time to reflect on the things that I am thankful for. Thank you Insulindependence! You have helped not only give me the strength to be a better diabetic, but have given me the drive to be a better individual.
As most of you know running and triathlons have been my solace, but I have felt for some time I have been missing something. Something that motivates me even more so do be the man I want to be. To be the father, husband, Son, individual that I want and desire to be. Insulindependence has helped pump life back into my system. Has helped me to be a more competitive diabetic athlete, has give me the drive to be a stronger individual. With the upcoming Holiday and a time to reflect on the things that I am thankful for. Thank you Insulindependence! You have helped not only give me the strength to be a better diabetic, but have given me the drive to be a better individual.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The people you meet
Every day continues to amaze me. Yesterday I ran into a gentleman that held such a different perspective on life. One that we all for the most part take for granted. Where does stress come from? Simple answer: Its what we make out of life. Our outlook on viewing stress and overcoming our struggles comes from within. I know it seems simple but if we just stepped back and simplified life might be a bit simpler.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Back on the Horse
After a frusterating few weeks of rest and rehab I finally feel like I am back on the horse again. April I ended up with a subcondyl stress fracture that could have resulted in a lot of time of but after some Physical Therapy and time spent on MVP Therapy ultra sweet Treadmill the ALTER G. I managed to keep my distances in through this machine. However, getting back on the road I found that I started favoring my right knee which then threw off my left leg. After a bit of ultrasound and electric stimuli on the leg as well as a little deep tissue massage and things are bouncing back my leg is feeling great, and I am back and fully running again.
During my rehab period I managed to get things worked out with my Insurance and Dexcom (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) and I am loving it! There unit has proven to be a Heaven send and an essential tool in my training. The only downside to it is my lack of body fat has made it difficult to find sites that work. So far I have used my overused stomach. By overused I mean that is were I have my pump site as well as my CGMS site for years and so scar tissue is plentiful in that area. The other location is the back of my arm. This seems to work well as for the most part it is out of the way the only problems is when swimming the electrode occasionally hits muscle which then creates a bit of tenderness, but all in all it works.
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