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Swimming strokes besides freestyle when training for a race has several advantages. Learning proper backstroke and mixing it in to your workouts can help your freestyle hip rotation. It is even more essential in backstroke to rotate your hips with each stroke than in freestyle, and will help your brain make the biomechanical connection. Swimming thousands of yards and hundreds of laps of nothing but freestyle is way too monotonous and can play with your mind! I recommend mixing it up. Backstroke or breaststroke can be relaxing. Butterfly can give you a nice ab workout, and even just one or two lengths can burn many calories!
Be sure to check out this week’s swim on the Swim Workouts list: http://www.coachtj.com/?page_id=96
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Improve your running cadence
Improving running cadence is a much neglected part of running training.
But this is about to change ! Read this section carefully so you too will know how to improve your times !
We do our base building, our intervals, tempo work.
But I don’t know many runners who actively work on their running cadence.
Running cadence ? I hear you thinking. What is that supposed to be ?
It is often referred to as stride rate as well. Does that ring a bell ?
Stride rate is part of your running economy. The way you run.
Do you run like a gazelle or do you run like an elephant ?
It is obvious that running like a gazelle is more efficient than running like an elephant.
Running economy incorporates more than running cadence alone. But in this section I focus on running cadence.
Do you run like an elephant ?
The official definition :
Running cadence / Stride rate = The number of steps you take on average per minute
In this section I’ll give you answers to the following questions:
What should my running cadence be ?
How can I improve my running cadence ?
Or do you run like a gazelle ?
What should my running cadence be ?
Easy. It has been studied. It has been proven. Elite runners run at a stride rate of 180-190 steps per minute. Any official race from 800 metres up proves this point.
Most of the time it is not that easy to see, when you are watching TV.
But next time when championship races are being broadcasted, you should have a try.
Count the number of steps a competitor takes with his right foot during 15 seconds.
Multiply by two (we can assume the athlete takes the same number of steps with his/her left foot as well…  ).
Then multiply by four to get the number of steps per minute.
I assure you, you will get close to 180.
Does not matter whether you watch a 5K or a marathon race.
Only difference is that the athletes running a 5K take bigger steps and are therefore going faster than the athletes doing a marathon.
How can I improve my running cadence ?
First, establish your starting point.
Go for a run.
During one full minute count the number of steps you take with your right foot.
Multiply by two and you have your running cadence.
Don’t worry. The usual situation is that you are doing less than 180 steps per minute.
To increase your stride rate you need to learn to take your steps quicker.
It is a bit hard to explain, but it should feel like you take lighter steps. Baby steps.
Try to run as if you are not allowed to touch the ground.
A couple of exercises which could help you :
Quick short strides
Run short strides (20-30 metres) with very quick steps. Lift your knees up high and go as fast as you can. Jog for a short while and then repeat. Repeat at least ten times.
Metronome
Musicians use metronomes to keep playing at the right speed. Runners can use metronomes as well to take the correct number of steps per minute. In the beginning the metronome might be a bit frustrating, it was for me.
But after a while it does get easier to keep up with it.Do these special exercises twice or three times per week. For ten minutes or so. Keep on doing this for two or three months. Yes. That long. It takes time to change this. Why ? How you run is based on a life long habit. It is hard to change habits. So do this regularly. Do this often. Keep on doing it. Only then you will have a chance to fight off those old habits.
So two or three months later, test yourself again.
Improvement ? Good for you !
No improvement ? Keep on going. And test yourself time and again, every three months or so.
If you are able to improve your stride rate, you find it is a good way to improve your times on all racing distances. In other words, it will pay off to focus some part of your training on your running cadence. A better running economy results in lower energy use. So it makes it possible for you to go longer, further and faster. And that’s what we do it for, isn’t it ?
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The 70.3 world championship was just won on a road bike with clip-ons. Road bikes do not cause jelly legs. Biking too hard or not being fit causes jelly legs.
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My original energy bar recipe was a hit, I wanted to follow it up with this creation for fall. The original recipe was found here. Like the original recipe, this one is very hard to mess up, feel free to experiment!
Ingredients:**
7/8 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1.5 Tbsp H20
1/2 cup dates, pitted and diced
1/2 cup Red Flame Raisins
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
3 cups Kashi Warm Cinnamon Cereal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup wheat germ
2 scoops Whey Protein Isolate (scoop is in container)
1/2 tsp fine granule sea salt
2 Tbsp pumpkin spice***
**You can find all of these ingredients at the Whole Foods
***2.5 tsp cinnamon, 1.5 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp allspice, 1 tsp nutmeg
Method: Combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse until
well mixed.
Then add all the ingredients into a large mixing
bowl.
With clean hands, reach in and mix ingredients
together until well incorporated. Clean your hands off, and get ready to portion the bars.
**Fill a bowl with cold water. Dip your fingers in
the water and rub them together so they are moist. This will help prevent sticky fingers (Sticky
rice method)**
Grab ~1/2 a handful of the mixture and roll into a ball. Then place it on a
baking tray lined with a Silicone baking sheet or spray the pan with pan spray. Repeat the ball
step until all the mix is portioned (~15 balls). If you have an ice cream scoop, it may also work.
Pick and pull bar mixture from the balls to make them
as close in size as possible. Then flatten them out into bar shape (approximately
3”x2”x 1/2”)
Bake them at 300 degrees for 14 minutes. They are not
like most baked items, so pull them right at 14 minutes.
Remove the bars from the oven, and let them cool
completely. With a nice flat spatula, transfer the bars from the pan to a cooling rack.
Wrap the bars or put them into sandwich bags. They last for up to three weeks or a month.
Look at those nutritionals . . .
This bar has a great nutritional profile, thanks to the help of the kashi cereal and all the wholesome ingredients. I got 17 bars out of this batch, well not counting the little bit I scraped from the bowl (shhh!)
Other good stuff:
18% Vitamin E, 31% Vitamin B6, 30% folate, 24% Vitamin B12, 54% Manganese, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium . . . awesome!
Also for the bar about 72% CHO, 23% fat, and 14% pro, nice balance for some good energy.
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 Best of luck to all my friends racing in Kona today!
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Many people start running to lose weight – it is one of the most efficient ways of burning body fat and a great tool for controlling your weight for the long term.
Running for weight loss has its pitfalls though, and often runners struggle to keep their weight down because they overcompensate by eating too much. Some runners I know believe they can eat like a horse because they run 50 miles a week – but they end up carrying that extra weight with them!
If you want to lose weight by running you need the right method and approach.
Here is a list of running tips which have helped me in the past…
Healthy Diet
As a beginner interested in running to lose weight a healthy diet should be your first priority. Avoid processed foods, high calorie portions and saturated fats. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat cuts, whole grains, nuts, dairy, and drink plenty of water. Vegetarians and vegans may have to plan their food with a bit more thought to increase the supply of vital nutrients such as zinc, iron, calcium and protein, but it is perfectly doable.
Burn More Calories Than You Consume
Losing weight is not a complicated thing: Calories measure the energy content of food and if you exceed the daily calories your body needs your body stores them as fat. To reduce body fat and lose weight you need to eat less calories or burn off the excess calories with exercise. Running to lose weight is very effective at this.
Beginners Avoid Dieting
Diets are not for beginners. To sustain energy for running your body will need a balance of wholesome foods rich in vitamins and minerals. By dieting you reduce the energy available for running which can often be the cause of illness or injury. So, as a beginner, focus on eating the right foods for fuelling. When you routinely eat well with regular mileage then consider a running program to slowly lose weight.
Keep A Journal
Everyday record how many calories you eat together with how many you have burned. This may seem like a hassle at first but it soon becomes second nature. If you are running to lose weight you require a deficit of 250 calories a day to lose half a pound a week. By writing everything down you learn how to manage your weight, it just takes a bit of practice.
Strength Training
When your muscle mass increases, the amount of calories you burn also increases. Research shows that 3 lb of lean muscle burns between 120-150 calories a day. This lean muscle improves your resting metabolic rate – meaning you burn more calories while at rest. Aim to strength train 3 times a week for 30 minutes.
How Many Calories?
Multiply your weight in Kg by 33 and this will give you the calories you need each day to maintain your current weight. It is an estimate which is based on a person with a moderately active lifestyle who doesn’t exercise and can be used as a baseline. If you weigh 76Kg you would need 2508 calories a day (76×33).
Eat Slowly
Research shows that by eating food slowly you are more likely to lose weight. The reason for this is that it takes 10-20 minutes for the brain to receive the signal from the stomach that it is full. We tend to eat past this point and overeat. Try taking smaller bites and chew your food thoroughly before you swallow (chew about 20 times). After all, why rush something you enjoy doing?
Low Calorie Diets?
If you are running to lose weight you will want to stay away from low-calorie diets.
By eating a low amount of calories your body thinks there’s a shortage of food and tells your metabolic rate to slow down, causing your body to burn less calories  . This is a good survival instinct for when you are starving to death but not so good when trying to lose weight! As soon as you start eating normally again your body will store more fat than before in case there’s another food shortage! Low-calorie diets also reduce the amount of vital nutrients the body needs for running so avoid them… no matter what.
Smaller Portions
Eat smaller portions and you will eat fewer calories. An obvious fact I know, but a fact all the same. If you have small portions on your plate it follows you will likely eat less. If you have large portions in front of you the chances are that you will eat what’s in front of you even if you are already full. If you go to restaurants often ask for extra salad or vegetables and smaller portions of meat, fish etc. You’ll soon get the hang of it. Admittedly, if you have smaller portions you may still be tempted to eat something else after, but if your food has settled there is a good chance you will feel full. You can always snack on dried fruit, salad or vegetables if you’re not. So, if you are running to lose weight remember to always eat smaller portions. And try to spread out your calorie intake for the day over several meals. This helps to sustain your energy and you will also feel less hungry.
Running Program
Running to lose weight safely involves following a running program, this will help you no end. Writing down what you eat and what you burn is one thing, if you follow a training schedule as well you will improve the chances of succeeding. By running to a schedule you are also less likely to over-train and injure yourself. A running program allows you to make progress gradually, at the same time as running to lose weight.
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I ran across this little snippett on one of the forums I frequent. Josh is completely accurate with his advice. If you want to loose weight, now is the time, this is the season.
JoshK – 2010-09-16 11:02 AM I see lots of folks with 20-50 pound weight loss goals. This emphasizees my previous post even more… you likely are not going to be successful losing big chunks of weight when you are also trying to adequately fuel “in season” ironman training. That means NOW is the time to start losing the weight.
I think people are right to point out that if we are struggling with weight we likely have food problems. If we’re eating too much it will be almost impossible to train enough to cancel out that damage. You’re reading the words of a guy who toed the line of his first marathon the heaviest I had ever been… because I wrongly thought that I could eat whatever I wanted since I was running 40+ miles per week.
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I have had about a dozen questions this week alone on what indoor cycling trainer I suggest people use, so I wanted to put forward an email. DISCLAIMER: I have no professional or other connection to Kurt Kinetic, nor do I recieve any consideration for suggesting their products, I just genuinly feel they are the best value.
If you are considering purchasing a trainer, fluid trainers are the way to go. Basically, there are four major types of trainers: Magnetic,Wind, Rim Driven, and Fluid. The later is the best, hands down! Fluid resistance trainers are more quiet, smoother and more realistic than any of the others mentioned. Be sure to buy the best trainer your budget allows for – budget fluid trainers have been known to leak their fluid. A nice trainer may cost you a few extra dollars over a budget one you can purchase online, but, think of it this way, your trainer is going to be your companion for many winters, so don’t buy a loud, crappy one with crappy customer service!
 I personally use a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine fluid trainer, that I purchased from T3 Multisport, and I love it. I had another brand that leaked fluid over my carpet last year, and the company didn’t want to support their product, because it was an older model, so, after research, I purchased the KK Road Machine. The Kurt Kinetic is, in my opinion, the best because it utilizes a sealed fluid unit and therefore is guranteed not to leak – my other brand of fluid trainer was not so lucky.
Another nice thing about the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine is the progressive power curve, of which KK says, “The Kinetic Road Machine is the only trainer specifically calibrated to replicate the resistance encountered on an outdoor ride.” I know the faster my wheelspeed, they more resistance. This is predictable enough that there is a formula to calculate power curves based on your wheel speed fairly accuratly, allowing you to train with power over the winter indoors, with just a KK Road Machine and a rear wheel speed sensor (if you decide to go this route over the winter, I can assist you with finding your power training zones and how to use them). Basically, I feel this trainer is the best product value, has the best warranty (that you should never need), and great customer service. You can not go wrong with this trainer, and I would highly recommend it.
Some have also asked me about my setup, what bike, etc. My bike will stay on the trainer full time throughout the winter, set up in a spare room, in front of a TV (I watch movies, spinnervals, catch up on TV show DVDs, play Wii, etc.) I also have a small, fairly quiet “turbo fan” that blows air on me from the floor in front of me.
I do ride my carbon frame Quintana Roo CD 0.1 on my trainer, with my Zipp 1080 tubular wheels with Tangente tires glued on them. I have never found a reason to not ride a carbon bike on a trainer, I just don’t do any “violent” out of the saddle efforts on the trainer (out of the saddle efforts are fine, I just don’t try to muscle the bike back and forth). Additionally, I have never had issues with carbon rims on a trainer, but I do remove the tension on the rear wheel when not in use.With the KK Road Machine, I do not see the tire wear issues I have had with other brands.
Here are some of the things that KK says about their trainer:
- 6.25 lb flywheel for realistic coast down
- Powertap calibrated resistance unit
- Sealed fluid chamber with magnetically coupled driveshaft
- Thermodynamically neutral silicone resistance fluid
- Consistent resistance at multiple temperatures80 cooling fins to dissipate heat
- Lowest operating temperature of any fluid trainer
- Smooth, quiet resistance from 5-3000 watts
- Approved for tandem use
- Guaranteed not to leak2 1/8″ roller reduces tire wear
- Unconditional Lifetime Warranty
- Crash replacement policy for a lifetime of use
- Compatible with all bikes with 16″ – 29″ diameter wheels
Kinetic Trainer
The following is from www.bikehighway.com
Kinetic Trainer
The Kinetic trainer is smooth, solid and quiet – simply put it meets all the criteria for a high quality trainer.
The Kinetic is especially quiet, no need blasting your TV or CD player to accompany your workout. This is surely a plus for family members who do not share your taste for entertainment. The only time we experienced more than background noise from the Kinetic was when standing in 52/13 gearing and driving “for the gold”. Even then, the noise level is inconsequential, when compared to even the best wind resistance trainers. The quiet ride is a characteristic of high quality trainers. The Kinetic uses a sealed fluid chamber with a magnetic coupler and 80 stationary cooling fins to create its quiet ride.
Riding on a Kinetic trainer gives you a solid, secure feeling – similar to being connected to the road. As a result of its heavyweight welded frame construction, the Kinetic is completely vibration free. The large PVC caps on each leg add to the stability of the trainer by absorbing any floor irregularities.
The Kinetic also has a number of other elements in its favor. It automatically adjusts difficulty from 20 to 2,500 watts of energy output as it responds to your bike’s gearing and your shifting pattern. Its large roller and dynamically balanced flywheel give it a smooth riding characteristic much like a newly paved road.
We found the quick release lever helpful, when attaching and removing our bikes, but don’t expect the quick release action you get from your wheel skewer. Speaking of skewers, the manufacturer states that the Kinetic can accommodate virtually any original equipment skewer.
The Kinetic comes partially assembled, and thus you must invest 10 minuets in the initial set up. Putting the pieces together is a relatively simple matter. The trainer comes with an all purpose tool that is all you need to assemble the trainer. While we were impressed with the quality of the all purpose tool (so many are just junk), we always recommend using a real tool, when it is available.
The unit’s adjustable legs allow for folding up the trainer, if storage is an issue.
While the Kinetic can accommodate mountain, road and BMX bikes, our two reviewers used road bikes.
The bottom line is clear. The Kinetic is a top of the line trainer that gets the job done right. We are pleased to give it our highest rating. To learn more about this top of the line trainer, click here.
Review written by Uncle Barn
Pros: Smooth, Quiet & Stable
Cons: None – It is an excellent traditional trainer
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 School is starting, fall is on the way, and I’ve always been a huge fan of homemade soup when the weather starts to get cold. Here’s one of my favorites – it makes a great “bacon delivery” vehicle, especially when topped with some sharp colby and a ton of the bacony goodness.
Heavy cream and sour cream tend to give me an upset stomach, so I created this recipe using skim milk. This is a very basic recipe, and I would encourage you to add some garlic, salt, pepper to taste. I also like to add just a little “Frank’s RedHot” to it as well. Experimenting with my recipes is always fun, and lets you create your own work of culinary delite!
TJ’s Very Easy Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups skim milk
6 large baking potatoes, scrubbed
1 cup sour cream substitute (see below) or use sour cream (I don’t like)
Directions
1.Microwave potatoes until done.
2.While potatoes are cooking make a roux over low to medium heat. Mix butter, margarine, or light olive oil, and flour. DO NOT BURN THE ROUX. When roux is thickened a bit, gradually blend in milk. Continue cooking over low to medium heat while preparing potatoes.
3.Peel and cut up potatoes. You may want to mash some of the potatoes also. Add potatoes to the milk mixture. Blend in sour cream. Soup is ready to be served
Sour Cream Substitute
Ingredients
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons skim milk
Directions: Whipped until smooth in a blender.
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 With July come and gone, and August closely following, the Northern Hemisphere race season has crested and is coasting gradually into “late season” mode. Now’s the time to reap the rewards of the work you’ve been doing all year and apply it to the weekend races.
If you raced an Ironman in the last few months, you’re set up to have a fantastic series of races if you focused on recovery and kept the ensuing three to four weeks’ training volume modest. Finishing an Ironman contributes to your fitness like no other workout you’ll do, and as long as you avoided the temptation to keep training at pre-Ironman levels, you can put that fitness to work at the sprint and Olympic distances.
The first key is to keeping your training efforts short and light in the first 7 – 14 days. If you took a week off after the race, you’ll feel extremely sluggish getting back into action as your systems have shut down and you’ll need to gently stimulate them to bring them back online before you can access your new abilities properly. Avoid the temptation to push long or hard as you’ll only delay your recovery and hit a mini-plateau as a result. Now’s the time to “save your cans of whoop ass” for the races — stick to 30 – 60 minutes in your workouts, and make gentle “nudges” at top end or intermediate speed. Make sure you book yourself into some sprint races for the three weekends starting two weeks after Ironman.
The second key is to keep the first key in mind for days 14 – 21, too! After a week to ten days of training again, you’ll find things are coming ’round and the short, hard efforts feel like something you’d like to act on and “test” to see what you’ve got.
Well, you’re right to feel this way — you can be on fire right now, but save that fire for race day! You want to set the scorching performances when it matters, so hold back them horses and keep your hard efforts well short of race distance. Keep “nudging” at high intensity — just enough to engage the system, then back off, recover, and do it again. All you want to do is re-engage your speed without pushing it so much that you delay recovery from Ironman.
Be a mature athlete and rein in your horses, keep your training to very moderate amounts, eat healthy and get your sleep — that’s all you’ll need for some smoking fast sprint and Olympic distance races after Ironman. Keep your impulses under control, wait for your fitness to come knocking again, and you’ll be on fire at the races in the month following your Ironman!
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