posted Oct 27, 2009 10:03 AM by elaine vescio
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updated Oct 27, 2009 10:52 AM
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The time between an athlete's last race of the season and preseason (base) training can be a tough time mentally and physically for a person. The structure, the endorphins, the regular sense of accomplishment with each workout completed, the hopes and anticipation for the next race--they all come to an abrupt halt.
Each fall, most of my clients experience some level of panic when I scale back their training, and encourage them to go for a mountain bike ride or a hike or skip a workout. Their fears and sense of loss, however, are minimal compared to some folks--namely my husband, Don, and Vescio MPS triathlon coach, Tonya Spagnuolo. The way these two experienced athletes react to the offseason, you would think some group was conspiring to destroy their fitness and subsequent race seasons. Several times a week, Don will head out the door for ride saying he'll be back in 90 minutes, pretty much the same amount of time he does for workouts during the season. With some prodding and nagging, he'll scale the ride back a tad. That, of course, leads to his laments about feeling out of shape. And Tonya is no better. A few weeks ago, as I was getting my Saturday morning spin class warmed up, I could hear her muttering to Don who was sitting on the next bike, "I can't stand this time of year. I just want to ride hard".
Well Don and Tonya may be two peas in a pod when it comes to the offseason, but not me. I love the offseason with its throttled back workouts, minimal swimming, and the chance to sleep in. When done right, the offseason is refreshing and rejuvenating. Embrace the offseason because before you realize it, it too will come to an abrupt halt.
Sure my fitness level has decreased since I backed off on training in September. I view this as a positive indicator that I have handled my offseason correctly. This morning in spin class, I could feel myself chomping at the bit to push a bit harder. Perfect timing since my base training starts next week. And I'm ready for it. |
posted Oct 5, 2009 3:00 PM by elaine vescio
Maybe you have been thinking about trying to lose weight as a way to
improve your racing. Or perhaps you who have experienced
gastrointestinal issues during long course events and want to explore
ways to minimize the chances of that happening again. The fall and
winter months tend to be the best time in the training cycle to lose
weight and/or address dietary issues that may increase the likelihood of
GI issues during training and racing. Part one of this Fuel Talk article
focuses on losing weight; part two addresses GI issues and will be in
the November issue of the FIRM Racing Newsletter.
Losing Body Fat
There are a plethora of weight loss approaches available. The approach
that would be best for you depends upon a number of variables including
how much weight you want to lose, any medical factors, genetics,
metabolic issues, tolerance for hunger symptoms, and ability to address
the psychological aspects that surround food. The purpose of this
article is not to review the various weight loss approaches, but
rather to discuss the basic principles of losing body fat and steps that
may be taken to improve the probability of success with a weight
reduction program.
Some basic principles hold true when it comes to losing body fat. Your
body must be in negative calorie balance to lose weight, i.e. your body
must use up more calories than you take in through food and drink.
Specifically it takes a calorie deficit of 3500 calories to lose one
pound. So if you maintain a calorie deficit of 500 calories each day for
one week, you will lose one pound.
Creating a calorie deficit can be accomplished by decreasing the amount
of calories you consume and/or increasing the amount of calories you
expend. The calories you consume come from the food and drink you take
in each day. The majority of calories expended come from three areas:
(1) the amount of calories your body uses for basic functions like
breathing, (2) the amount of calories your body uses for normal daily
activities like your job, and (3) the amount of calories used by your
body during workouts.
There are limits to the amount of body fat that you can lose in one
week. Losing more than one to two pounds of weight per week means that
you are losing muscle and/or water along with body fat. So if you don’t
want to lose some of that muscle that you worked so hard to develop,
keep your daily calorie deficit to between 500 and 800 calories.
Over the years, I have found the following ten tips to be useful when
helping my athletes to lose body fat:
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Get a feel for what your current diet looks like with regards to the
total calories, and the amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. There
are software programs such as Fitday that make this easy to do. (www.fitday.com)
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Try to take in the majority of your carbohydrates around the time of
your workouts. This helps to fuel you for your workout and helps with
the recovery process. Also there is some evidence that consuming
carbohydrates throughout the day may limit your body’s ability to use
fat for fuel.
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Eat three meals a day and two snacks, taking in some protein with each
meal and snack. This approach provides you with a steady stream of fuel
throughout the day, helps to minimize your feelings of hunger, and
according to the early evidence available, encourages your body to use
more body fat stores for energy instead of glycogen.
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Eat at least five servings of fruits/vegetables each day, and choose
lean sources of protein. You’ll feel much better with healthy food
choices versus using up your daily caloric allowance with junk foods.
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Increase the amount of calories you expend in your daily activities such
as parking further away and using stairs.
Wearing a pedometer can help you to measure your daily steps. Set
a goal for increasing them, and then make an effort each day to hit this
goal.
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Weigh in once a week on the same day, time, and scale. This gives you an
accurate gauge as to whether you are on track with creating the
appropriate calorie deficit. Normal daily fluctuations in body weight
make more frequent weigh ins less reliable.
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Have a friend, family member, team mate, or coach track your weekly
weight so that you know another set of eyes is tracking your progress.
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Don’t stay off track all day.
If you indulge in some treats that are not good choices for your
weight loss program, decide to get right back on track. Don’t choose to
splurge all day with the plan to start “being good again tomorrow”.
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The diet does not have to be something you stay with forever. Remember
you are trying to reach a goal weight for racing. Once you reach that
weight, you should be able to ease up a bit and maintain that weight.
Just continue with the weekly weigh in to catch any increase in
weight right away.
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Don’t give up. If weight loss doesn’t occur or plateaus, then you are
not in negative calorie balance. You need to eat fewer calories or
increase daily calorie expenditure to have the scale move in the desired
direction.
Part two of this article will focus on reducing you body’s dependence on
glycogen for fuel. Look for part two in the November issue of the FIRM
Racing Newsletter.
Elaine Vescio, a USA Triathlon Level 1 Certified Coach at Vescio
Multisport Performance Services, has helped numerous athletes achieve
their athletic goals. Elaine has a Bachelor of Science degree in Human
Nutrition, and interned at Massachusetts General Hospital. You can reach
Elaine at
info@mpstraining.com. |
posted Aug 18, 2009 10:57 AM by elaine vescio
I am not a big advocate for orthotics, viewing them as a last resort. First fix any training issues (like increasing running mileage too quickly or running on banked surfaces) and address any physical imbalances or weaknesses. (A good physical therapist is invaluable when it comes to that!) Also make sure your running shoes are appropriate for your running style. Most high end running stores will perform a free gait analysis and then recommend shoes based upon your gait and your running experience and goals. If you are still experiencing lower leg issues related to running despite trying the steps listed above, then visit a podiatrist to get professionally assessed. If the podiatrist does diagnose a need for you to get orthotics, make sure you discuss the possibility of inexpensive standard orthotics versus ones that are custom made. Quite a bit of research indicates that custom orthotics perform no better than ones you could buy at your local CVS.
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posted Aug 18, 2009 10:24 AM by elaine vescio
This is a frequent topic of debate among triathletes. Below is my response to when the question was posted to my triathlon club's listserv:
I’ve researched this topic quite a bit. Stretching can be beneficial or detrimental depending on the person, and how and when the stretching is done.
Static stretching should NOT be done immediately before exercise because it tends to result in weakening of the muscles which can reduce the person’s physical performance and/or increase his/her risk of injury. Research has shown that a warm up routine that includes dynamic warm up exercises help get the body ready for exercise by gradually warming up the body temperature and gently loosening up the person’s working parts.
I have found that stretching is best done at night. The body has been active all day and the person is less likely to rush the stretching routine. Stretching helps a person become more flexible which allows the person to better perform proper swim strokes, get into a more aerodynamic cycling position, and be less prone to running injuries. You don’t want to strive for the flexibility of a dancer or gymnast; that level of flexibility is actually at risk for more injuries. But an above average level of flexibility is good for triathletes and is worth the investment in time. |
posted Aug 17, 2009 12:50 PM by elaine vescio
This summer several of the participants in the Vescio MPS Open Water Swim Clinics requested in written form the tips that the coaches cover during the clinic. In the interest of saving trees, I chose to include the tips gathered from the coaches in a blog entry.
Positioning Yourself at the Start of a Triathlon
Position yourself at the triathlon start depending on your swim ability. If you are a strong swimmer, go to the front of the pack; weaker swimmers head to the back of the group; and all the rest should settle in the middle. Don't make the mistake of thinking the faster swimmers will swim around you or wait for an opening to swim around you.
Most people tend to look for the shortest line to the first buoy when lining up for the swim. Don't do this. Instead position yourself a few feet to the right or left. Sure you will have to swim a little further, but it will help you to avoid at least some of the chaos of the swim start.
Handling the Chaos of the Swim Start
No matter where you position yourself, there will be some chaos at the start of a triathlon swim. (Unless you hold off for about twenty seconds and then go). But if you are going for time, then dive in when the horn goes off. If the water is really shallow, you may need to make a few shallow dolphin dives before you can start swimming without your knuckles scraping the bottom. Expect that the water will get choppy and that it might be difficult to see or to even feel like you are making progress during the first few minutes or longer depending on the number of people in your swim wave. Focus on staying calm and just trying to make forward progress. (If panic takes over, check out my blog entry, Tips for Handling Anxiety During an Open Water Swim.
During the initial few minutes, create your space by kicking quite a bit and swinging your arms a little wide during the recovery. To protect your face, you may even want to do a modified "catch up" stroke. With this type of stroke, you keep one arm in front of you until the hand on your recovery arm almost touches the leading hand. (Don't do too much of it because it is a slower stroke). Some people choose to put their goggle straps under their swim caps to minimize the chances of their goggles being knocked loose. Stay calm and confident. If you take a whack to the head or face, try to keep on going, but if possible, get away from that person that gave you the whack or any person that is annoying you. If they are all annoying you, then good luck.
If someone taps your feet, kick a little extra hard to try to get them to either back off or go around you. Hopefully they will take the hint.
Drafting
You can save energy if you get into the slipstream of the person in front of you during the swim. Drafting in the swim is legal in triathlons. Drafting is easy and fun. There are two approaches to drafting. 1. Swim directly behind the person as close to the person as possible without tapping their feet. 2. Swim to the person in front's side near their lower body. Be cautious in either position in case the person switches to the breast stroke or slows when sighting. Remember to sight while drafting. Just because they are a faster swimmer than you, doesn't mean the person in front knows how to sight.
Don't waste time or energy looking for "fast feet" to catch a ride on. Just go for it if the opportunity presents itself. You can increase your odds of finding fast feet if you line up at the start near someone who you know is a little stronger than you in the swim.
Bilateral Breathing
Bilateral breathing helps you swim straighter by balancing out your stroke. Usually as you breathe, your non-breathing arm tends to overreach the midline, causing you to swim crooked. If you continually swim breathing to one side only, it will all add up. By breathing bilaterally, you will (hopefully ever so slightly) zig-zag, by balancing.
If you have difficulties going that long - i.e. every three strokes before breathing, you can modify that to go every three strokes, followed by a extra one. So it would be an every three, then every two pattern. Conversely if you thought that was too much breathing maybe go for an every five.
Usually when you are starting out with breathing bilaterally, the "wrong side" is very awkward. Best bet to feel less awkward? Practice in the pool only breathing to that side for just a length or two. It will help. Also, correct stroke technique will help as well, i.e. a longer extension of the arms in front, forces you to rotate more, opening up the opportunity to breathe a little longer and hopefully, easier.
Sighting
Sighting should be easier if bilateral breating (described above) is working well. Sighting can be done a few different ways. I would say do which works best for the situation. Just don't lift your head out in front. This will just cause you to fall out of alignment, and then you will have to work to get back to that position. But try some of the approaches listed below:
If you are not following someone closely in the water, and you like the lifting forward, you can do a little lift - similar to how an alligator surfaces--lift your eyes and only your eyes out of the water. This only works when there is no one in front of you AND the water is very calm. What I would suggest you try (especially since in a triathlon the water tends to get rough and crowded), is combining your sighting with your breathing. There are two ways to accomplish this-- lift forward, then rotate to your breath, or rotate to your breath, and then lift forward. In any of the situations, I would sight between every 5 and 10 strokes. If you find yourself going off course, sight more frequently, and if you tend to swim straight, less often is fine. Make sure that you give yourself enough time to catch a good look at the buoys, and that it's not another triathlete in an orange cap, or perhaps a man wearing a red-orange t-shirt in a kayak ;). Better yet, look for something on the horizon that would be easier to sight.
Turning Around Buoys
First of all, it tends to get congested around the first buoy in a triathlon. Sometimes it congested around all the buoys. So plan your approach to the buoy so that you will be a little wide allowing you to avoid the congestion and use a more normal swim stroke. Your approach for turning around buoys depends on whether the course is counter-clockwise or clockwise. The "outside arm" is the one away from the buoy. So if you are going counter-clockwise around a buoy, the outside arm is your right. As you approach the buoy, intentionally cross the midline with your outside arm, and with the close arm go wide. This should help turn you around while swimming somewhat naturally.
Exiting the Water
Swimming is faster and requires less energy than wading through water. So swim until your knuckles hit the ground on three consecutive strokes; then stand up and run out of the water. If you are wearing a wetsuit, unzip it as you exit the water and pull it down to your hips. Then remove your swim cap and goggles, and carry them as you run to your transition spot. Note, I do say "run". So many first timers are really frustrated when they see how much time they wasted during slow transitions. The clock for your overall time doesn't stop when you finish the swim segment. So keep moving, quickly. |
posted Aug 17, 2009 11:50 AM by elaine vescio
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updated Aug 17, 2009 12:45 PM
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During the Vescio MPS Open Water Swim Clinics, I meet quite a few people who feel significant anxiety during an open water swim. Most will be ok for a few strokes, and then the panic hits, breathing gets shallow, and swim form deteriorates. A person who seemed to be swimming along just fine is now anxiously looking around and beginning to hyperventilate. If this happens to you, then read on for some tips for dealing with open water swim anxiety that recently I emailed to an open water swim clinic participant.
1. Work on relaxation techniques on dry land so you can use them when doing the open water swim. Using visualizations and having a positive mantra may sound "out there" but they work well. For years I dreaded the open water swim part of triathlons. I would stand on the shore of the lake or the ocean wishing I was virtually any other place on earth! But for the past few years I have been practicing the mantra, “I am a strong confident swimmer”, and it has gotten rid of my open water swim anxiety. It's important that you choose how you want to view yourself as a swimmer and you teach your brain to believe that. Your brain will believe whatever you tell it to believe. So if you tell it "Oh crap, I can't do this. I can't breathe. I'm doing to die". It will believe that and a natural stress reaction will occur in your body. Teach your brain something more positive. My favorite book on the topic is by Jim Taylor, “Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training".
2. Try to practice open water swimming frequently even if it’s in the shallow part of a lake at your local beach when a life guard is on duty. The more you put your face in the water and get used to the darkness, the better.
3. Do some hard fast swim sets at the pool to get yourself used to feeling breathless when swimming, and then swim easy to try to get your breathing under control.
4. Breathe normally in the lake and pool. Focus on blowing bubbles into the water to exhale all the water from your lungs before rolling your body to take your next breathe. When we get anxious, we tend to hold our breath and then let the air explode out when our face is out of the water.
5. Have your “panic stroke” ready--an easy position where your face is out of the water. I like breast stroke because I can see, breathe, and make forward progress while I calm down. Others prefer side stroke or to roll on their backs and relax. Practice going into your panic stroke at the pool so it becomes second nature.
Try these tips from someone who has been there. Anyone can become a strong, confident open water swimmer. J
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posted Aug 13, 2009 5:10 PM by elaine vescio
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updated Aug 17, 2009 11:44 AM
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As a coach, a triathlete, and the Head Mentor for Danskin New England, I am fortunate to have so much of my life revolve around the world of triathlon. Actually aside from taking care of my young children, my hubby, the dog, and the house, much of my time is devoted to triathlon--training and racing, working with triathlon clients, leading seminars and clinics, researching the sport, working for FIRM (the Northeast's largest triathlon production company), and running a multisport coaching company. So in my day to day activities, I come across a variety of information that I think would be relevant to triathletes. I plan to use my blogs as a means to convey this information. I hope you enjoy at least some of my entries! |
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