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TRIATHLON AND MULTISPORT NEWS - MARCH 2009

BUSINESS END OF THE SEASON

The last few months of the Aussie season are upon us. The Australian Championships over the Long Course have just been held with the Olympic Distance staged at Mooloolaba later this month and the Ironman at Port Macquarie at the start of April. The culmination of a season or for some a few seasons for those lining up for Ironman. The great thing about this sport is that consistency and time put in over seasons and years will see you improve. There are many area's we can all work on to get our best happening. Just going out and swimming, cycling and running is just part of it. Staying injury free is a key for many smart trainers and veteren athletes. The great Australian marathon runner Steve Moneghetti said that he would aim get his training diary looking like a phone book in reference to building the gradual aerobic adaptation component of his training to help him stay injury free - each page being a day of training. He mused that is was much harder (near impossible I say!) to tear a phone book in half (get injured) but quite easy to tear five, ten or fifteen pages - done by overdoing things and not getting the consistency and strength that comes with it.

Train smart to race well
Nick Croft
nick@multisportconsultants.com

Nick Croft's Triathlon Blog

NOOSA = TRIATHLON PARADISE

For those of us fortunate to live in Noosa it is not news to us as to how great the natural environment is for multisport living and training. National Park and forests surround Noosa and the riding is great in the hinterland and country roads. The open water swimming in Laguna Bay as as good as anywhere I have seen and we have a great Aquatic centre. Each year the intenational contingent of athletes gets bigger and bigger. Last years Triathlon World Champion Helen Tucker from Grear Brition who has been a regular for a few seasons now but used her last years Noosa stint to get her in winning shape and had her best year ever. The Graingers in Belinda and Justin have been here for about 6 years now and just last weekend Belinda backed up to win IM Maylasia off her Noosa Base. Not be be outdone Luke McKenzie who is new to Noosa this year took out the men's event. Hawaii top ten and 2nd in IM Oz last year swiss Matia's Hecht is back again this year and has spread the word bringing about 15 German and Swiss back this with him. A few of the old hands of the professional Noosa crew include Greg and Laura Bennett, Andrew Johns and Lisbeth Chrstiansen, Mark Jenkenson and Nicole Hofer. The flow on effect to the locals is good to. Mixing with some of the best in the sport certainly rubs off.

HEALTH & WELL BEING

Below we start some monthly tips that will assist in putting the right nutrition into your body

TWELVE STEPS TO HEALTHIER EATING

1. GOOD NUTRITION BEGINS WITH THE SOIL
CSIRO studies have found that tomato plants grown organically contain 300 times the potassium level of tomatoes fed chemically, and far more calcium, sodium, magnesium, copper and iron. Spinach contains 32% more iron when grown on composted soil, organic wheat 40% more vitamin B1, oats 28% more protein and vegetables 50% to 80% more vitamin A. The CSIRO concluded that organically grown food is better because the nutrients it contains are present in greater quantities, are greater in quality, are better absorbed by the body and are present in the right proportions for healthy growth.

Organic farmers do not use artificial fertilisers or pesticides. Biological pest control methods are used. Crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, compost and mineral bearing rocks help maintain soil productivity and provide plant nutrients. The biodynamic method of agriculture was developed by Dr. Rudolf Steiner in Europe in the 1920s and goes further than basic chemical-free organic farming. It is dedicated to the real development of the soil ecosystem.

“New Scientist” in 1996 reported that as food supply in some countries has increased, so has the number of people suffering incapacitating vitamin and mineral deficiencies. This threatens to lock parts of the developing world into an endless cycle of ill-health, low productivity and underdevelopment. The lack of vital minerals and trace elements has been passed on through the food to such an extent that an IQ loss of 10 points has been observed in a whole generation of children who have consumed a diet largely based on intensively grown crops with high levels of artificial fertilizer.

UP-COMING EVENTS

- Challenge Series Cronulla NSW - March 8
- Bribie Island Tri Series QLD - March 15
- Challenge Series Australian Championships Perth WA - March 15
- Noosa Club Triathlon - March 22
- Mooloolaba Triathlon QLD - March 29
- Ironman Australia Port Macquarie - April 5

DEEP WATER RUNNING
(stress free extra miles that will make you run faster)

By MSC Head Coach Nick Croft

Deep water Running (DWR) - Is a great way the improve your run strength and speed without the normal wear and tear associated with longer / harder miles. I have used it to great success personally at a professional level. I ran a 2.50 marathon at the end of my first Ironman on 60-70 road km a week and a further 2.5hrs a week DWR - running on the days I did not run normally but got the benefits of running about 14 road km to every 40min of time in the water plus doing this at a low heart rate and getting the gentle stretch associated by going through the range of motion and getting the core and specific run muscles - in hamstrings and hip flexors strong and in condidtion for fast and strong running off the bike. A running injury saw the final 8 weeks of my run mileage leading to Ironman Lanzarote (in Spain's Canary Islands) in 1994 reduced the avg per week of 40km but thankfully I was able to run in the water every day I could not run due to the injury. The end result being 4th overall in one of the worlds toughest IM events with a marathon split of 3.00.09 - that's 3hrs and 9 seconds.

I worked with Kate Major for her first 4 years in the sport and made DWR an integral part of her running regime. Her run steadliy improved to being one of the best in the sport over the marathon and along the way took victories at IM USA at Lake Placid, New York, IM Arizona, a few top 3 places in IM Australia and a Podium at Hawaii Ironman. Quite a few of age group athletes I have worked with over the years have had great run results off the bike with the addition of DWR into their programs. The main obstacle is what I call the boredom factor (of carrying out DWR) and of course time and the need to add a DWR onto the start or finish of an existing swim to lessen extra trips to the pool. Of course there is not a need to add 2-3hrs a week as I did when I had the time and motivation to do so. Doing 2 x 30min DWR a week will add a further 15-20km worth of stress free run milage to your week with the added benefits I have already spoken about. Good times to DWR - extend a long run - do the long run then do 30min DWR after (finish the long run at the pool). Do one the day after a hard run session of intervals or a long run. Do straight after a long ride - you get the benefits of running off the bike but get to stay cool and much less fluid loss from the system.

How to do it - find deep pool - no feet on the bottom. Some may not need a buoyancy belt (mostly those from swimming background with natural floatation). For most though a run vest to help floatation will allow you to concentrate on your form rather then worrying about keeping your head above water! The plan is to mimick your normal run form and style as closely as possible. Hold your arms and hands the same - don't cup the hands or try to 'paddle along'. You should aim to have a slight foreward lean - without bending at the hips or running as though your half sitting. Your feet will be slightly pointed so forget about heel toe foot landing. Work on engaging your hip flexors to lift your knees and take a stride out front of you as you draw your leg/s back under you concentrate on engaging your hamstrings as these are the prime movers in getting your legs back underneath and behind you. Arm action is the same as you would have running on land - in time with the legs and balanced. You will move as you do it, so expect to get a few laps in during a 30min DWR. You may feel some fatigue in the quads on the bike at times post DWR but you will adapt to this over time. The benefits are great and the bottom line is that if you do at least twice a week for a minimum of 30min at a time for a few months your run times off the bike will improve.
Find more useful training tips at www.multisportconsultants.com/training-tips.php

Find more useful training tips at www.multisportconsultants.com/training-tips.php

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