Endurance Planet

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We’re joined by Brie Wieselman, a functional medicine practitioner from Santa Cruz, CA, who runs a successful online clinic with other clinicians serving patients all over the world. Brie specializes in gut health, hormones, and female health. Today she is taking a dive into the topic of endometriosis and adenomyosis, with tools on how to functionally approach healing and relief from these conditions. For more about Brie’s services and inquiring about hiring her, click here. And, as mentioned in the introduction, if you’re curious about Brie’s experience with gestational diabetes, you can read more on her blog here.

Brie joined us on EP back in 2016, on a show you can listen to titled, Foundations of Functional Medicine and Applications to Reach Optimization.

Allison asks: I am an avid listener to EP and I would love to hear Coach Tawnee and her co-host talk about Endometriosis and it’s lesser known, but similar affliction, Adenomyosis (I have both!!! Ahhh!!).

For those of us in training, this can mean extreme pain from the time of ovulation through the actual week of our periods. I have to schedule races around my period because I bleed so much and am in so much pain the first few days, Racing during this time would be out of the question. Constipation and bloating during non-period weeks are also symptoms of Endometriosis and can really impact training.

The only treatment my healthcare/traditional OBGYN has suggested are synthetic hormones, which do NOT work for me, an IUD (no way!), and surgery. What research I’ve done on my own points to using food limitations -I don’t eat dairy or soy to avoid excess estrogen – or other natural remedies such as castor oil and heat or ACV to help balance estrogen and improve motility in the gut.

What other ideas do you have for us women who are in training to help with Endometriosis and Adenomyosis? It feels like a full time job trying to manage it and train at the same time.

1. So I wanna do a full Ironman in 2020.I’ve done 47 marathons so running endurance isn’t an issue. It’s the other two disciplines

I can swim all day with a swim bouy, but the second I get rid of it in attempt to kick, my legs fall in the water as if I am bent at a 90 degree angle. So I need to work on kicking. I can only get in the pool twice a week. Should I spend  most 2019 doing kicking drills on both days or drills one day and swim with the bouy the other?

2. Next I HATE road riding. Bores the Eff out of me. I do like mountain biking. Can I get away with doing most of my miles on a MTB and ride long every 3-4 weeks in 2019 to get ready for 2020?  Once again I can only ride twice a week and maybe a 3rd day every couple of weeks if lucky. How would you schedule MTB rides twice a week to help get to the needed miles to adequately train for an Ironman?

Thanks guys. Keep up the great work!

I really enjoy the podcast.  You guys are doing a great job.

I have a question about training specificity for a trail race.  I recently completed my first 50k trail race and it was an epic disaster, but I was bitten by the bug and can’t wait to do my next.  I did the first 20 miles in 3:35, and the last 10 in 2:42. I did alot of training before the race for going up hills, but neglected to train enough on the downhills… which destroyed my legs.  You covered exactly how I need to train for the down hills in ATC 271, so I feel like I know what I have to do to improve in that area. My question is related to the amount of time I need to spend on actual trails.

Here is my situation.  I am a 40 year old foster parent of a 3 and 2 year old, and recently we added their sibling to our family, a 6 week old.Before we had the baby, it was hard enough to get out for longs runs, now it’s even harder.  I’m a road runner, always have been because of where I have lived. The closest decent trail to me for training is a 20 min drive away and doesn’t open until 8am, so training on it before work isn’t an option. I manage to squeeze in a run before work, climbing out of bed at 3:55, and when I need to build the mileage will squeeze in another after the kids go down in the evening.  Most Saturdays, I’ll “sleep in” until 4:30 to get my long runs in before the house gets too crazy. Needless to say, finding times on the weekend to do a long trail run isn’t easy, and I noticed in the 50k that my ability to technically navigate the trails was lacking. There is a lot of lateral movement on the trails navigating obstacles that isn’t there on my street running.

So, knowing that I don’t have the option to step out my back door and hit trails anytime I wish, how often should I attempt to train on actual trails leading up to the race?  Can I get away with once a month, bumping it up to twice a month leading up to the race?  Do I need to get out there every weekend? Is there any cross training I can do to help strengthen the muscles needed for all the lateral movement?  I cross train, mainly body weight training and plyometric work 3 times a week, which has helped me remain injury free through my running career.

What’s up guys, “Blue Collar Baller” here! I’m a UPS Driver and I still get 25-35k farmer walk steps and stair climbing in a day, I won USAT Cross Triathlon Nationals in 2017. We had a baby boy in 2018, and I only raced 1 Olympic with Elites, it wasn’t pretty! I tried to keep some fitness ready to hit 2019 hard. My training was going great until a month ago on a long run I had a “Calf Heart Attack.”

It is pretty much a deep strain in the Gastroc calf muscle. I can run short 3-4 miles easy with no pain, but I don’t trust it to do any speed. I have been working on a faster cadence for less ground contact and less impact, (I have long legs that like to stride!).

So, with Cross Tri Nationals 9 weeks out, should I mainly focus on hard training for the bike/swim and easy running until full recovery? I will say my swim is fair, I can average 1:25s in Olympic distance swim whether I train 3 days a week or 1 day. I’m a powerhouse on the bike, like to hammer and I am very technically good. I am a decent runner, my volume is low, but I can block the internal governor on race day and suffer as needed.

Greetings from Massachusetts! I’m a big fan of the show and have learned so much since I started listening to your podcast last year.

I am a 48-year-old triathlete (competing in sprint, Olympic and 70.3).

I took up cyclocross 3 years ago and I am in love with this sport, it’s such a fun yet challenging sport with a great community. Triathlon remains my priority, I see cyclocross as more of a fun way to mix things up in the offseason, however that doesn’t mean I don’t want to improve at it. I have seen a big improvement in the last 3 years in my technical riding skills but the part of cyclocross that absolutely crushes me are the sprint starts and the fast flat power sections. My question is how can I train for these fast sections while still focusing primarily on triathlon training.

My A-Race is a 70.3 in mid-September and my cyclocross season typically runs from late September through mid-December. Any suggestions you can give me would be very much appreciated.

New listener to your podcast (really interesting stuff!) and just about to embark on my MAF journey. I have a couple of questions about starting MAF training. I bought the “Big Book of Endurance Training” several years ago, but never committed to the approach for various reasons (mostly because I like running “fast”, and enjoy what might be called “junk miles”), whereas now I think it might help me reach my goals and prevent injury.

My background: Male, 43 yo, 195lbs.

I took up running quite late in life, for fitness & enjoyment, with my best years to date being 2014 / 2015 (19:34 5k, 3:40 trail marathon were my highlights (although I bonked hard on the last 3 miles of the marathon)). I also competed in a number of triathlons that year. Since then I suffered badly with plantar fasciitis and IT band injuries, which knocked me out of any kind of training for near on 2 years.

I started training again in late 2018, and now in 2019 needed to set a focused goal. I plan to train toward an Ironman distance event in 2021, with a half-ironman toward the end of 2020. I’d really like to have a structured training approach for these endurance events and so I dusted off the big yellow book and re-read the details.

My question is as follows: My heart rate is very low (it’s not a medical issue, just naturally low). It is normally 38 – 40 when I wake up in the morning and sits between 40 – 45 when sitting at my desk. I am by no means an elite athlete! Should I still apply the 180-age formula to determine my MAF threshold? I’m keen to ensure I focus on the right training effort.

On this episode we’re joined by Ryan Hall, the American Record holder for the half marathon (59:43) and holder of the fastest marathon time ever run by an American, a 2:04:58 at Boston. Also a two-time Olympian who grew up in Big Bear Lake, CA, Ryan is now a coach, speaker and author who lives in Flagstaff, AZ, with his wife Sara and their four adopted daughters.

Check out Ryan’s new book that recently came out, Run the Mile You’re In: Finding God In Every Step. It’s a great read that all you athletes are sure to enjoy!

Hello my fitness family — Can you explain inflammation to me? Is it good or bad?  I know you need it to help the healing process but then why take anti-inflammatory things like CBD or eat an anti-inflammatory diet?  

Is some good but too much bad?  If so then how do things like CBD play a role?

Do you need to know how much natural inflammation you have from foods and stress to accurately take any anti-inflammatory drugs/supplements?

Before I start, let me say this: your podcast is my favorite – I look forward to it every week!  And congrats to Tawnee – I’m sooooo happy for you and wish you all the best!!

So here we go.

I’m a 39yr old female with goals of staying healthy, active and strong for the long term.  My ‘favorite’ form of exercise is outdoor running  (I’m totally middle-of-the-pack, 55ish min 10K, 2ish hr half to give you an idea) but I also like the feeling I get from doing some weights too.  I eat a whole foods paleo-ish diet, have no weight problems (130-135 lbs for years) and have Hashimoto’s (controlled) and Raynauds.

For the past few years, my exercise routine has been to get in about 5 or 6 runs/week, 30-60 min, trying to keep my heart rate under 140 most of the time.  I would run fasted in the morning thinking that this would overtime improve my fat burning and help me to improve my pace at low heart rate.  My other reason for the way I was training was to try to keep my exercise-stress low as I’m a bit of high sympathetic-type of person.  I would also do a bit of strength work (push-ups and squats, mostly body weight).  This was convenient and worked well with my work/family life and I enjoyed getting out in the mornings.  I had no injuries for years.  However, I was not getting any faster and was not feeling very strong. 

THEN THIS HAPPENED: I got a stress fracture on the top of my foot – I think it happened partly because I had been wearing minimal shoes which were getting old and partly because I had been doing a some harder workouts (more weights and runs where my heart rate was higher) over the weeks leading up to the injury.  

So now I’m just wearing a very stylish air cast and dragging myself to the gym to go on the stationary bike.  Boring! I’m also doing some upper body strength stuff using machines.

I had been feeling like I was in a bit of a rut and this injury is forcing me to think whether maybe it’s time to change things up  – I’m someone who likes to follow a ‘plan.’ Is it possible that the MAF-style training I had been doing was just a little too hard?  My true MAF (b/c I take synthroid) would be under heart rate of 131.  Once i get back to training, should I try my morning runs/walks with that in mind?  Or would that be a waste of my time? Could it be time to scrap that plan and focus on less days of running, perhaps running by feel rather than heart rate and introducing more days of weight training?  I can devote about an hour/day to exercise and making trips to the gym more than a couple times/week would not be ideal.

I’d love some guidance/specifics – I guess I’m looking for what might be a better strategy going forward to keep running in my life and also becoming stronger and I know you guys are the experts.  I’d like to do some 10k’s again in the future but am not into doing any half marathons any time soon because found the long runs too hard on me.

By the way – my physio has switched me to Hoka’s – so there’s one big gear shift right there!

For over a year I’ve been running with a hamstring niggle that matches almost exactly Lucho’s description of High Hamstring Tedinopathy in ATC 257 (April 6 2018 – Building Durability and Toughness, Too Fast For MAF, Hamstring Niggles, When Resistant Starch Backfires, Ground Contact Time, and More!

During the episode Lucho said (@ 55:20)  “What you gonna feel is a dull ache, possibly a tightness, if it spreads up into your glute – glute medius then you might be in trouble….”

Well, that is the particular thing I’m writing about – since my dull aching hamstring tightness has indeed migrated up into my glute. Can Lucho offer any advice about what to do in this situation please?

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Thank you for all your time that you and your team put into your fantastic podcast. You all have been keeping me company on my runs the past few years! I’m hoping you can give some advice on nutrition to aid mid-race recovery. I’m completing a 5 day, 315 km (15,000 m gain) mountain race this May in Wales, UK. The race goes from the north of the country to the south taking in some amazing mountains along the way. Each day has a set distance and we stay in tents overnight. Each day will likely be 12 to 15 hours running out on the hills so recovery time will be limited. This race will be all about finishing for me, the drop out rate is high and its a big leap forward compared to previous races so I won’t be pushing for a fast time. I have completed multiple 3 and 2 day races and recovered well between days but usually these are 6-10 hour running days so there is considerably more time to eat and recover each night. The individual daily distance are achievable for me  (i.e. I have raced them several times) but getting up and repeating the same distance on little recovery will be a challenge.

Hi! My name is Jenny. I am a fan of the Endurance Planet podcast and just finished listening to your episode on how someone can get their period back. This email is mainly intended for Tawnee and Julie. After listening to the episode I was inspired to reach out and get your insight/advice on something that I’m having trouble figuring out. I realize it’s kind of a loaded question, but I’m pretty desperate to understand this more, so if you have any insight that would be so appreciated.

I am a competitive Spartan racer and, after years of playing soccer (a goalkeeper), became an endurance athlete about a year and a half ago. Before I started running a lot and training more, I weighed 155 (I’m 5’11”) and was probably consuming about 3000 calories per day. After building up my training volume, I lost weight and ended up getting down to 142 while eating around 2750 calories per day. Upon the advice of a nutritionist (after getting metabolic testing, which told me that my RMR is 1760 calories), I bumped my calories back up to 3000 calories per day to support my training.

3000 calories should still have technically been a deficit, but I gained a few pounds and hovered around 145-146 for a while. I wanted to get back down to 142-143ish, so around June of this year I dropped back down to 2750 per day. However, my weight never dropped. I’m actually 150 now, despite eating in what I believe to be a deficit. I usually have a meal where I treat myself about once per week, but with my activity level I have a hard time thinking that I am simply eating too much! It’s not necessarily the higher number on the scale that bothers me, but the fact that I seem to be gaining weight out of nowhere!

Another piece of background information: I am 22 years old and have struggled with hypothalamic amenorrhea for 7 years (it started even before I lost a significant amount of weight or my body fat got too low and has never ended despite weight fluctuations and even spending quite a bit of time eating 4000 calories per day). I have been in close contact with my OBGYN throughout this time, and she was not too concerned because my hormone levels (at least FSH and estrogen) have been on the lower end, but still in the normal range. Plus, my bone density is still in the upper normal range. Besides my activity level/training and low body fat, there is also the possibility that my life-long struggle with anxiety (and the anxiety medication I have been taking for years) could be a factor. My OBGYN recently suggested a low-dose hormonal birth control, but the idea of taking artificial hormones and screwing with my system in that way really scares me. I’m really not sure what to do and didn’t know if, somehow, nutrition could maybe be the fix.

My current coach has actually been working with me to improve my relationship with food and exercise, and so he’s been trying to decrease any unnecessary volume that I was tempted to add in and has encouraged me to try and stop tracking calories/macros and listen to my body more. I like this idea, but like many other women, I am kind of scared to gain weight. I also don’t know if just not tracking calories is the best way to go about things or not, since I’m almost tempted to eat less when my workouts are shorter than what I have been used to for so long.

I was wondering if you had any suggestions for me regarding my situation. I would really appreciate any guidance you have for me. Sorry for the novel, and thank you so much for your time and help!

I have a question in regards to fueling for both short and long distance trail running.  I have a full schedule this year, with a 5k trail series and a few trail half marathons and if all goes well, I may end the year with a full or 50k trail race or both.

My concern is in regards to fueling. I feel I may need to move into a more paleo or whole 30 style diet as my primary diet. One reason is because since July I have dealt with itchy skin and a rash on my neck, under arms and chest. I thought it was a heat rash because I was doing many of my runs in 90 degree weather. However, when winter came the issue remained. I then tried the whole 30 diet (which lasted about 16 days). Interestingly enough, during that time I didn’t have the itch or rash. I also didn’t struggle with constant itching eyes and sneezing. At least not nearly as much.

I’m not sure if it’s the grains or dairy that is causing my issue but I’m real close to just giving them both up. ( Maybe only allowing myself to cheat if I’m inviting over somewhere for dinner or something. I’ll eat what they are serving). But as a general rule, I want to just avoid those foods so that I feel good.

My concern then is fueling my long runs and races. Can I get what I need from Meat, fruit, veggies and eggs? For both long runs and intense runs such as a 5k? My training is mostly easy running. I like to use the 5k as my speed work and I will do the occasional tempo or moderate effort run. I don’t follow MAF but my HR is usually right in that range anyways because I do nearly all my runs at that low HR easy pace.

During the 2 weeks I was on whole 30, I was using Lara date bars as my pre run fuel. I could probably use those and maybe the organic cliff shots for my long runs and races?

I’m a nearly 49 year old endurance athlete with a history of multi-day adventure races, paddling events, rogaines (orienteering), and ultra running.  (Lucho coached me through Leadville and other events including a few 24 hour runs.)

The past 6-8 months have been a bit rough, 1st with sacrum / groin issues which the MRI showed as a stress reaction in the pubic bone, and now with a torn ulna collateral ligament (thumb) which required surgery to re-attach it.  The former has meant no running since November 2018, though I was able to walk a lot, hike some, swim, spin, and do strength training. (Mtn biking tended to inflame the sacrum.) Now, with the thumb situation, upper body strength work is for the most part out (I may be able to get away with some core work), and can probably do some leg work.  (LEG EXTENSIONS HERE I COME!) Any kind of serious cardio is out for at least 4 weeks due to the sweat factor making the cast a bit nasty. So I’m leaning towards taking a decent break there, hoping the groin/sacrum issues finally have a chance to heal anyway.

All that said, as an endurance athlete fast approaching 50, how would you rebuild me into a true grandmaster badass?   Goals these days are less about traditional ultra runs (though I won’t count them out), but more like solo long adventures (famous runs like SCAR, a 72 mile self supported run on the Appalachian Trail), “strange format” races such as last man standing, off road ironman (hey, I said I’d do an ironman when I was 12, and have yet to do it!), Rogaines (24 hours of orienteering), etc.  I can’t rule out doing some multi-day paddling and biking events, too. And I still want to thru-hike the AT, and I do get out for a couple of multi-day backpacking trips every year.

So in general, a wide swath of endurance pursuits lay ahead of me in my 50s, 60’s, and 70s.  I’m now viewing this extended time off from running and now a shorter window of no cardio as a break — a break in hindsight I should have taken long before.  And when I come back, I want to be stronger and more fit than ever! What would that journey look like if you are starting from near ground zero? (I know my nearly 30 years of endurance pursuits means I have a lifetime base that has not gone away.)

Hello my endurance friends. I started running at age 18.  I made it to age 40 without any major injury and rarely stretched or did any mobility/strength work (other than the beach muscles).  Then I got a sacral stress fracture. The PT’s told me I was very, very stiff (usually they said I was the stiffest person they’d ever met- yay me! First Place!!!!)  So I diligently did mobility work, stretched and did specific leg strength work for years.

Now it has been 6 years of that type of work and I get injured ALL THE TIME!  I haven’t ramped up my mileage or thrown in speed work too soon, in fact I haven’t even attempted speed work since I seem to get a soft tissue injury every 3-5 weeks.  ANd I don’t rush back to training when I do get these injuries. I take all the time needed until I don’t feel anything in that area to start running again.

So I guess my question is; how come?

I go back to not doing all that work since it doesn’t seem to help (answer is no)?

Am I doing it wrong (answer is, it depends- love that one)?

Or should I keep doing what I am doing as I am actually doing things right, I would have probably gotten injured way, way worse had I continued to not do any of that work and kept running.  The cumulative miles have actually caught up to me and I need to do so much work to reverse the poor training habits of the past.

Side note- 2 of my older friends never do any of the strength/mobility/stretching and they are never injured.  I know each person is different and it may catch up to them, but it doesn’t seem right (sorry that was more of a vent than a question)

Musculoskeletal injury in the masters runners.

Impact of age, performance and athletic event on injury rates in master athletics – First results from an ongoing prospective study

Acute and overuse injuries correlated to hours of training in master running athletes.

The Prevalence and Risks of Injury for Masters Athletes: Current Findings

The Mature Athlete: Aging Tendon and Ligament

Effect of strength training on human patella tendon mechanical properties of older individuals.

Physical activity-related injuries in older adults: a scoping review.

This episode we have runner and coach David Roche. David started the Some Work, All Play (SWAP) team in 2013 and is a coach to some of the top trail runners in the world. He is a two-time national champion runner, a three-time member of Team USA, and the 2014 USATF Men’s Sub-Ultra Trail Runner of the Year. He is also a contributing editor for Trail Runner Magazine and co-author of the book, The Happy Runner. David’s married to Megan Roche, who is also an accomplished runner, fellow SWAP coach, and co-author their book. She recently obtained her medical degree from Stanford.

On this show we talk with David all about the keys to happy running and more:

Brett Sutton has been posting about his views on cycling cadence in triathlon (for example, here: https://team.homeoftriathlon.ch/en/teams/home-of-triathlon/blog/do-you-want-to-ride-faster).  In a nutshell, he says that everybody other than professional cyclists should pedal with a lower cadence than 90 rpm, because it’s too difficult for those who did not grow up racing bikes to pedal at 90 rpm and because it’s somehow less efficient.  In the linked post, he “backs it up” with a more developed piece by one of his coaches and a one-time pro cyclist, Cameron Watt (http://blog.trisutto.com/the-great-cadence-debate/), who attempts to put physics behind that idea, essentially saying the higher the watts you are pushing, the higher your cadence.

Frankly, none of that makes any sense to me.  For one, I don’t recall ever having trouble pedaling at 90 rpm and in fact tend to go higher during focused efforts.

In Watt’s article, he at one point talks about track sprinters who are pushing massive watts and cadence and says, see their cadence is high because their watts are.  That makes no sense. The reason track cyclists have a very high cadence is because they are riding a fixed gear bike and increasing cadence is the only means of accelerating.  Sprinters have to strike a balance between selecting a massive gear for the final kick and having a reasonable ratio so that they can get up to speed reasonably quickly at the start.

Further, to take Sutton/Watt’s argument to its logical conclusion, shouldn’t we also run with a lower cadence too?

1. The Effect of Pedaling Cadence on Skeletal Muscle Oxygenation During Cycling at Moderate Exercise Intensity.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190212120114.htm 

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/why-amateurs-shouldnt-try-to-pedal-like-chris-froome-191779

New study (Feb 2019) on 9 recreational cyclists, found over 90 rpm less efficient. But these were not trained athletes.

They exercised at a power output equal to Tvent, pedaling at cadences of 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 rpm, each for 4 min. Tissue saturation index (TSI), a measure of vastus lateralis oxygenation, decreased from rest to exercise; the magnitude of this TSI reduction was significantly greater when pedaling at 90 rpm (−14±4%), compared to pedaling at 40 (−12±3%) and 50 (−12±3%) rpm (P=0.027 and 0.017, respectively). Albeit small, the significant decrease in TSI at increased cadence recorded in this study suggests that skeletal muscle oxygenation is relatively more affected by high cadence when exercise intensity is close to Tvent.

2. The effect of cadence on cycling efficiency and local tissue oxygenation.

Study on 14 Trained triathletes/cyclists. They tested 60, 80, 100 rpm tested in 8 min trials and found that they had higher efficiency and economy at lower cadences. 

It was concluded that: 

A practical application of these findings is that a cadence of 60 rpm may be advantageous for performance in moderately trained athletes in contrast to higher cadences currently popular among elite cyclists.

3. The association between cycling experience and preferred and most economical cadences.

Compared experienced cyclists and non-cyclists, finding:

Take-home: grinding reduces oxygen cost but can lead to more muscular fatigue.

4. Cadence Matters

This article cites studies that show:

5. Optimal pedaling rate estimated from neuromuscular fatigue for cyclists.

Six college-aged cyclists each performed six sessions of heavy pedaling exercise at individually selected work rates based on their aerobic capacity. The optimal pedaling rate was evaluated on the basis of minimal neuromuscular fatigue.

Lower neuromuscular fatigue at 80-90 rpm, but lower VO2 (O2 uptake) at 60-70 rpm.

Optimal pedaling rate estimated from neuromuscular fatigue in working muscles is not coincident with the pedaling rate at which the smallest VO2 was obtained, but with the preferred pedaling rate of the subjects, and seems like cyclists prefer to go with cadence that allows for lower neuromuscular fatigue

Hi Lucho and Tawnee, First time, long time as they say on all the best radio shows. Your podcasts have helped me get through many grueling workouts and I believe because I use predominantly MAF in my runs, I am rarely injured these days (touch wood).

I’m 48 with a decent athletic background. I’ve run a few marathons and completed 5 Ironman races in my early 40s. I took a step back from the sport as I went through a divorce and wanted to focus more on my kids and work. I’m aiming for an Olympic Triathlon PR of 2:30 (best was 2:37 5 years ago). It is in late June on a reasonably flat course.

Currently weight 250 lbs, aiming for a race weight of 240 lbs. I’ve got a decent base from the winter, now I’m aiming to get in great race shape.

I think I’ve got my swim covered as I do 3 Masters classes per week.

I do 4-6 hours of hilly biking per week, as my schedule permits.

I do around 4 hours per week running, 75% of it at MAF, one tempo run and a track workout. My current MAF time is 10:45, I’m aiming to get this down to 9:45 at the the of the race.

I’m doing a sprint a month before the race, and I also work out with a trainer for strength work once per week.

Any advice for me and for any other bigger guys/gals who love the sport of triathlon?

My name is Sol. Yes, the same (male!) Sol whose question Lucho answered a year ago regarding periodising training for a marathon over the course of an entire year. I’ll happily report that the training went perfectly (with no niggles) and the debut race more perfectly with a 2.59 finish. I felt strong and comfortable throughout and paced it very evenly with the fastest and slowest splits within 10 seconds of the mean.  I have to say here too that Dr Maf’s and Tawnee’s idea of using honey as fuel worked a treat!

Question 1. During training my long MP tempo efforts equalled 160bpm. During the race, however, for the most part (between mile 3 and mile 19, after which it began the upward creep), my heart rate hovered around 154 bpm. Does that mean that I was running easier than I was capable and could have sped up to 160 intensity?

Also, what might be the explanation of the first three miles’ HR being more elevated at 160 before dropping to 154? (Could it be the lack of a proper warm up? I ran 1.6 miles as a WU). This has happened before at other races.

As an aside, I have heard Dr Maffetone saying on the podcast that a marathon can be raced 10-15 seconds faster than MAF pace. The thing is, my MAF (130-140bpm) pace is only 7.50 ish, yet I raced a minute per mile faster!  How was that possible? Or are there caveats to the Dr’s rule?

* My training included, besides for the weekly long runs, increasingly longer tempo runs first at 145bpm, then 150, 155, until reaching 13 miles at 160 + WU and WD.

We are back with Holistic Performance Nutrition episode 6. On this show, coaches Tawnee and Julie share six of their favorite nutrient-dense foods for athletes. We breakdown what makes these foods so good for athletes (including plant-based athletes!), and give our buying tips, favorite brands, cooking methods, nutrient profiles, and more.

Quick links mentioned on this show:

Common deficiencies in athletes:

Sam’s Liver Pate recipe: