July 27, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Lake Monsters, Swim Reports
Without a doubt, today was the most perfect day for swimming we’ve had yet. The water temperature came in at an idyllic 72F, and the combination of calm waters plus lots of sunshine made for an active pool party at Orange Ladder North.
Wetsuits were definitely optional, but I chose to swim with mine as I’m preparing for the Point to LaPointe Swim taking place in two weeks up in Bayfield, Wisconsin. I did the race distance (two miles) at a fairly brisk clip and was completely wiped out for the rest of the day.
On an unrelated note, I hope many of you checked out the Chicago Criterium bike race today. It was pretty cool!
Sunrise in paradise
Early bird swimmer Karen, Lake Monster #9 (congrats!)
July 24, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Fitness & Training
Right now, many of you are entering your peak training weeks in preparation for your August and September events. Bottom line, you need more carbohydrates in your diet to fuel your increased physical output and – hopefully – minimize any negative physical effects of endurance training.
In two prior posts, I highlighted ways to strengthen and fortify your body from the effects of endurance training:
1. Power Law Strength Training
2. Paleo Eating
I had a few questions come up with regards to the special dietary needs of endurance athletes. Once again, I’m going to defer to Mark Sisson’s recommendations:
When you go for endurance training, you face (among other physical strains) the necessity of increased carb intake and all its negative results (e.g. inflammation, AGEs (avanced glycation end products), impaired immune function, etc.). Myself, I had a half-gallon of ice cream, loaf of bread and cereal habit going to refuel every day for years. At the time, I didn’t see an obvious impact on my performance, but I later realized I was causing long term damage. A better, more Primal approach to a training diet includes meals full of veggies (universal recommendation, yes) as well as the judicious use of fruits and tubers for added “healthier than grains” carb sources. (Of course, your diet should include a hefty supply of protein and natural fats.)
On a Primal Blueprint (PB)-style low carb diet, with PB-style low training time, the body makes 200 grams of glycogen each day from fats and protein (and then we figure another 100 or so from your veggies and fruits). That gives you enough glycogen to fuel your brain, cruise through an average day and to be able to do a short hard workout – and then do it again the next day. However, when you train long every day (over an hour), your carb needs will increase. The key is discovering EXACTLY how many additional carb grams you need each day to refuel muscles, but also to keep insulin and fat storage to a minimum. Too few and you won’t recover from day-to-day. Too many and you’ll set yourself up for inflammation and unnecessary weight-gain.
Right after a long training session or race, you’re in a critical period for glycogen refueling. That first hour offers the most efficient opportunity for glycogen storage, and it’s fine to refuel initially with simpler (faster uptake) sugars. Take it slow and go for drinks first until you think you can safely move onto solid food. When you’re ready, try some fruits or yogurt with honey to get both carbs and protein in that initial window. As you move past that first hour, tubers and more complex carb sources are good to include. As I tell everyone, try to avoid grain-products as much as possible when increasing carbs. Depending on the length and intensity of your workouts (and races) you’ll need anywhere between 60-100 extra grams of carbs (beyond what we discuss above on a low carb plan) each day per hour of intense endurance work. It’s well worth the trial and error efforts to gauge your personal need and dial it in precisely.
I’d also suggest redirecting your training toward long and slow stuff with occasional fast and intense interspersed. Doing so will allow you to keep building endurance capacity while better “training” your body in fat burning efficiency.
Races or any intensive training session lasting over 90 minutes often call for added carb refueling on the fly, too. Over the years coaching athletes, I’ve found that drinking 10-20 grams of sugars every 15 minutes after the first 60-90 minutes helps keep glucose in the bloodstream and thereby spares muscle glycogen. Any more than that and you run the risk of stomach upset. Once again, sports drinks are probably the most efficient source for carb energy, electrolytes and hydration. Though a piece of fruit might work for borderline training days, eating solid foods during a race generally backfires. Additionally, sport drinks have some advantages over straight juices. There’s a reason these drinks have been around for a while. I’d do some comparison shopping and personal trials to find one you prefer.
Finally, wise (i.e. comprehensive and potent) supplementation is an absolute must. In comparison with the average Joe or Jane, endurance training inevitably depletes the body. You’re doing more than the body was naturally designed to do. Moreover, the amount of oxidation (and free-radical damage) taking place during that time is tens or hundreds of times greater than what you experience at resting metabolic rates. Consequently, your nutrition needs will be higher – especially the need for extra antioxidants. It’s critical you refuel all nutrient stores and take in higher levels of anti-oxidants that can help repair the damage training (in addition to everyday living) causes.
July 23, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Fitness & Training
Be sure to check out Mark Sisson’s piece, “What is the Primal Blueprint?”
Here is the overall premise of the article:
Most of life is really much simpler than modern medicine and science would like to have you believe. You can have a tremendous impact on how your genes express themselves, simply by providing your cells the right environments. All you need is a basic understanding of how your body works and a simple philosophical roadmap you can use to find answers to just about any questions of health and fitness – whether it involves personal choices or lifestyle adjustments or whether medical intervention might be appropriate.
Here are his ten “rules of living”:
1. Eat lots of animals, insects and plants
2. Move around a lot at a slow pace
3. Lift heavy things
4. Run really fast every once in a while
5. Get lots of sleep
6. Play
7. Get some sunlight every day
8. Avoid trauma
9. Avoid poisonous things
10. Use your mind
Read the whole thing.
July 22, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Great Lakes
Ohio Street Beach was jam packed with triathletes, all of whom were brave enough to take on the wind and waves. The water temperature was a balmy 70F, although I stayed on land this time around. Overall, the beach was pretty clean. There was some residue on the shore which looked like it had detergent-like qualities, but the litter level at the site was far less than last month.
Triathletes
“Linus”
July 22, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Great Lakes
I volunteer for the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and every month I complete a “beach report” for Ohio Street Beach. This involves documenting a variety of conditions at the beach as well as testing and analyzing the water quality for bacterial levels. In addition, I collect and document the litter types and quantities present at that site.
All these findings are submitted to the Alliance, and they log this information into an online database which they use for pollution prevention and educational purposes. It’s all part of an ongoing effort to monitor the beach and water conditions throughout the Great Lakes and to identify any unhealthy patterns which might be developing along our lake shores.
In June, I picked a relatively slow time. In contrast, July’s report will take place this early evening where we are expected to have a much larger number of swimmers and beachgoers. While not entirely statistically significant, this will provide a much more representative sample of the the overall health and well being of Ohio Street Beach and the adjacent lake conditions.
I know some of you are planning to be out there for the free open water swim clinic. So if you see me at the beach, come up and say hi. I’ll be doing stuff like testing the water, picking up litter, taking photos of the beach conditions, and filling out voluminous reports.
Look for the silver and black commuter bike with the black panniers and American flag. I’ll be decked out in a blue Lake Monsters t-shirt – the very same type that you can purchase on site if you so desire!
July 22, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Event Alert
FREE SWIM CLINIC TONIGHT!
Fleet Feet Open Water Swim Clinic
Lake Michigan – Ohio Street Beach
6:00pm – 7:30pm
Free! Wetsuits available for rental for $5.00 (bring a photo ID)
July 20, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Lake Monsters, Swim Reports
Once again, the lucky weather pattern repeated itself at L1…
The water temperature reading came in at 68F under flawless skies. I opted for a wetsuit, although I probably would have been fine without one. However, once the storm clouds moved in, the lake temperatures dropped quite noticeably. It seems like the “golden hour” for lake swimming is indeed 6:30am – 7:30am. Any time after that is touch and go…
Laura, Lake Monster #8 (congrats!)
Airborne!
July 18, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Fitness & Training
According to data published yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we have reached a grim milestone as a society. For the first time, survey data indicates that more than one in four Americans is obese. While results vary by state, the national average is 25.6% – the highest ever.
While this ongoing phenomenon has generated a lot of discussion and debate (as well as no small number of “fad-diet” solutions), I think we’re long overdue for a simple reality check:
Our contemporary food intake and physical activity patterns are highly inconsistent with what our physical bodies have adapted to over the past 50,000 years – and these changes have occurred so abruptly that they are wreaking havoc on our physiologies.
I realize that this isn’t the most pleasant news to read. However, this may be the single most important factor governing whether or not you consistently enjoy good health or chronically struggle with bad health.
Consider this:
* Agriculture is still a relatively new phenomenon. Grain-based carbohydrates such as wheat, barley, rice, and maize (corn) became staples in our diet only about 5,000 – 8,000 years ago. And even with the introduction of these foods, the human diet was still heavily dependent upon fruits, vegetables, and animal protein sources.
* High fructose corn syrup was not present in our diets until the late 1950′s. It was formulated (HFCS-55) as a lower cost substitute for sucrose in processed foods and drinks. Prior to that, HFCS had never been part of the human diet, and sucrose was only introduced by plant sources such as sorghum, sugar cane, and sugar beets – all largely agricultural products.
* Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats) have only been present in our human diet for about 100 years – and only significantly within the last 30 years.
So, despite thousands of years of acclimatization to a completely different diet, we are deferring to food intake patterns that largely consist of grain-based starchy foods (rice, potatoes, pasta, cereals, breads, etc.) as well as processed foods laden with fructose, saturated fat, and trans-fat. And our physical activity patterns (when we engage in them at all) are largely cardio and repetitive in nature – versus the random, high-energy, and “short-burst” activities for which we have been optimized by eons of human evolution.
The key takeaway here is to recognize that your environment has transformed quite radically over the past few generations, and that this transformation has especially accelerated over the last decade or so.
Bottom line, your current lifestyle bears very little resemblance to what you physiologically respond to most positively.
Remember, historically you’re accustomed to eating only fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, and lean meats while engaging in brief, intermittent, and omni-directional physical activities that are intense and challenging to your major muscle groups. If you stray too far away from these consumption and activity patterns, you will suffer the same consequences that we are presently seeing at a national – and even global – level.
July 13, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Swim Reports
We had a cloudless morning with calm and crystal clear water which made Lake Michigan look like one gigantic mirror. The surface temperature near the Orange Ladder read a scorching 65F, so I figured I’d just go with the jammers and thermo shirt. I started to get shivery at the half mile mark and had an unexpectedly intense afterdrop. In reality, the water was probably in the 61F range – so a wetsuit was probably in order. But you couldn’t ask for more perfect swimming conditions!
Ladder 1 acrobatics
“Louis”
July 12, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Tips & Techniques
Here are a few pointers that rarely make the playbooks:
* Get in the water about 45 minutes prior to the swim start and do a few brisk sprint laps – just enough to get gassed out. This will “prime” your body for the actual swim, and it will go much easier.
* During T1, after you get out of the water and dry off, blow your nose into your hand towel and take a couple of snorts of Afrin nasal spray. This will keep your nasal passages clear during the bike ride and allow you to breathe while you’re eating or drinking.
* Keep 1-2 ibuprofen tablets handy on the bike and take one after every hour you ride. This will keep the inflammation down in your body and make the run much more pleasant.
* Ditch the “fuel belt.” Most events have aid stations every mile during the run portion which are more than adequate for fueling or hydration. Also, you don’t want anything tight or constricting around your waist. Instead, just get a tri-top with side pockets and carry a small flask of concentrated Hammer Sustained Energy or Perpetuem.
* Use Hammer products exclusively. They’ve got sports nutrition down to a science. Besides, their apple-cinnamon Hammer Gel tastes great on vanilla ice cream!
* Unless you’re going all out for a personal record, take it down a notch during the last 1/3 mile of the run and pay attention to what’s going on around you. Get your head in “celebration mode” and let the coolness of what you’ve just accomplished sink in. MOST IMPORTANT – gauge your pace in relation to any other runners and adjust it so you get a cool finish line shot. This is your time to shine, and you want all the attention on you alone.
