Well, I had every intention of daily updates throughout the week #IMKona but before I knew it the sun was setting and it was time to get back home. Congratulations to all finishers (official and unofficial). It was nice to be back after so long. Check back for the full summary later this week.

I think I may have (Kona) coffee issues...

This cup definitely charged me up.   What started as a 2 1/2 mile jog down to the pier to meet Mark for his swim turned into a mini fast progression run.  Dang.   The swim was great and the run back picked up where the run out left off.   Made it back to the condo, threw on cycling gear and we drove out to Waikoloa to meet young stud PA/NJ local triathlon stud, Brian Duffy, who is here competing for the first time.   He and his friend, Morgan, wanted to see and experience some of the Hawi part of the bike course.   We started about 10 miles out from the turnaround which allowed for a brief ride on relatively flat road before starting to climb toward Hawi.   The winds weren’t all that bad but they were steady, for sure.   Pretty much a side/head wind the whole way out.    The way back was that same wind and mostly at our backs and I was quickly reminded why I used to break out the 55×11 for this course.   I must admit I enjoy the compact crank I am currently riding but it would have been nice to have a 10 vs 11 tooth cog to go with it.   Even without it, speed was hovering around 45 mph for a good stretch.

Matthew and I followed up the ride with lunch at the Four Seasons with my old, long lost friend, Eben, mentioned in yesterday’s post.    All I can say is – wow.    That place is deserving of every star it likely gets in ratings and reviews.   A great lunch and it was great to catch up.   Eben, thanks again, you look as ready (more really) than you did 20 years ago and I am sure you will have a great race out there on Saturday.

Later in the afternoon, we made a stop at the Clif Bar party, and who do I see for the first time in (well) over 15 years, but Mr. Kenny Souza lounging on the front lawn couch.   Dude – you haven’t changed a bit – well, maybe a little.   For those who may not know, Kenny was the best duathlete in the world for quite some time.   I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to race against him many times – sometimes winning, sometimes getting left in his wake.    So what did we talk about?   Our kids, of course.   Kenny – I have your number now – count on me bugging you every week until you start riding your bike and running again.

The next item on the morning agenda was a run through the Natural Energy Lab including a few efforts right around goal race pace.   It was duly noted how incredibly easy ironman marathon race pace feels when it has not been preceded by a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on the bike and over half of a marathon….    Being late morning, it had yet to really heat up it was definitely getting warm toward the end of the climb up to the Queen K.    My memories of the energy lab are not all that fond as it was very often where my marathon went “south”, at least for a little while, but those memories all seemed to be washed away.    Now I just needed to get out on the bike.

Rather than bring a bike on the plane, my friends at Kestrel Bicycles offered to ship the “Green Lantern” (Kestrel RT1000) along with the bikes they were shipping for the Ironman Expo.   Thanks, again, Steve!  And thanks, also, to the guys at Cycle Station for letting me use your bike stand and tools.   Cycle Station is by the airport, so we decided to ride from there and head north for a while before heading back.    Tailwind out.   Headwind back.   A lot of cyclists out riding in both directions.  Nothing new there.   A short 54 minute ride, so I am looking forward to getting out again for a bit longer today.

The Ironman Expo doors officially opened at 5pm.   15 years ago, there was nothing like this.   Not the biggest triathlon expo I have ever seen but definitely night and day compared to what I remember in my previous trips to Kona. All in all, throughout the day I got to see and say hi to several of those faces from the past.

Plan for Wednesday is a ride out to Hawi at some point to re-experience and enjoy the Mumuku winds then have lunch with an old friend.

Alii drive at night was very quiet, calm and actually somewhat cool and comfortable temperature-wise.    I am sure that will not be the case by mid-day today.

5:44 AM Kona Time: troops are all up.   On my second cup of some very excellent Kona coffee.   Looking forward to a nice morning swim and run.    More to come…

Physiologically speaking, however…..

“Physiological adaptations in response to physical training are highly specific to the nature of the training activity. Furthermore, the more specific the training program is to a given sport or activity, the greater the improvement in performance in that sport or activity.” - J.H. Wilmore, D.L. Costill, W.L. Kenney

Hmm….ok then, so if the body adapts very specifically to the type of training performed wouldn’t it then follow that “cross training” is mostly a waste of time? Shouldn’t runners just run, cyclists just bike, swimmers just swim, triathletes just swim, bike, run and so on? The short answer:  Yes. The long answer: mostly, if they are getting closer to a peak event or if time is limited but not really, if they are in their off-season or early base training period or when recovering from an injury that prevents or limits training in their primary sport.

So, where does cross training fit in your training plan? Or should it? Well, like the answer to many (most) training questions, how it can and should fit is very individual and depends on a lot of factors.

If we look at a typical training progression, early season or “base training” should be fairly general, late season or “pre-competition training” should be more specific. In this context, particularly during the winter months, when training in your primary sport might be limited or require indoor vs. outdoor training, cross training can be a huge asset and great alternative. Any activity that has an aerobic component is fair game when it comes to building your training base. I.e, more volume, more volume, more volume….. In the spring and summer when the important races are looming in your headlights, cross training should be considered a bit more carefully and judiciously.

Training in a variety of activities that develop the aerobic system or build strength can allow for a much needed break from the “same old, same old” while still moving you toward your goal.   There are so many options when it comes to ‘cross training’. Swimming, deep water running, in-line skating, cycling, mountain biking, rock climbing are among the many possibilities. Play with your kids! Soccer, tennis, kick ball, “catch”, etc. etc.  Cross country skiing, snowshoeing and even shoveling snow are great ways to be outside – either as a supplement to or in place of running or cycling indoor.   All are good options.  As they say, variety is the spice of life.   A recent Facebook discussion brought up the question of whether shoveling snow could actually be considered a “workout”.   I can say, without question, I have made shoveling snow a strength/core workout and at other times an endurance workout – either way, always worthy of entry in my training log!

Ok, ok, fair enough but, seriously, I’m a serious competitor, what about when it’s crunch time and I need to get ready to race and peak for my event(s)?   It is absolutely true that the best workouts are the ones that are most specific to the demands of the event for which you are training.    If I am training to compete in a 5k run, workouts with efforts at 5k goal pace are the highest priority as I get closer to the race. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t continue to include a longer run and other runs at slower paces in my routine.   It’s all about a shift of focus and emphasis.  Likewise, while cross training may not be a top priority when training for a specific sport or event, it can still have a place in your repertoire.  Let’s say you are a runner and just happen to have in excess of 10 hours per week to devote to training.   Not unreasonable for most of us.   Unless you have been building up to it and/or have superior genetics and biomechanics, it is highly unlikely that running that many hours per week, week in, week out is going to be kind to your body.  However, the cumulative of effect of maintaining that volume of aerobic training stimulus will only help, especially if it promotes faster recovery from the more specific training that you do.   If time is limited and it’s already hard enough to get in enough training in your primary sport, then, no, cross training is probably not the best idea.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when approaching cross training – whether it’s during the general phase or specific phase of your training season.  Because your fitness level really is very sport-specific, approach ANY new activities with caution.  Don’t think that just because you are a super fit cyclist that you are ready to go out and run for any prolonged length of time.   I’ve seen more than a few very competitive cyclists wreck themselves for several weeks by going out for “just a 5 mile run”.   Limit any “first” workout in any new activity to about 15-25 minutes or less and keep it really easy. While, ultimately, cross training can be a great way to add volume to your training week, initially it is better to substitute rather than add a workout or two with new cross training efforts until some adaptation to the new stimulus has taken place. As you do get closer to your competitive season, it is not necessary to eliminate your cross training efforts but it is important to avoid any cross training sessions that compromise any of your key sport specific workouts.

What about days “off”?  Is it better to rest or train easily or cross train when your muscles are too sore for specific training?  In most cases, easy activity that promotes blood flow and avoids causing further trauma or breakdown to muscle tissue is better than complete rest and will enhance recovery.  That’s not to say there isn’t a time and place for a complete rest day. If you are sick with a fever or you have an injury or what feels like the beginning of an injury, taking a day or two completely off is likely to help more than it will hurt. Never be afraid to take a day off. When I was training and competing full time, I found I needed a regularly scheduled rest day – at times it was weekly – at others it was every few weeks – it was as much a need for a mental break as it was a physical break.  Now, because training time is much more limited, I find almost never take a complete rest day.   Easy exercise feels much better than no exercise.   Again, it’s all about a shift of focus and emphasis.

Hearing the many updates and reports over this past week has, for sure, brought back some memories – most good and some, not so good.   Here is an excerpt from Mark’s update from last weekend which I believe paints a very real picture of just what each and every athlete competing on Saturday will be facing.   In Kona – it WILL be hot and it WILL be windy and it WILL be hard.   It may be a matter of HOW hot, HOW windy and HOW hard but it’s NEVER easy.

“Re-Cap of yesterday:

Drove out to the Waikoloa and dropped the girls off at a great beach by the Marriott.  I was humbled, immediately, by the winds.  Rode towards Hawi (starting time 10:40) into a 35-47 iBike mph headwind all the way to Rt. 270 and then began the climb toward Hawi.  I have to say that there were many times when I was very sketched out….and that doesn’t happen to me often.  Riding up to Hawi was quite interesting…saw a women (pro from the looks of her) get completely blown off the road coming back from Hawi.  There were a couple of scary moments on the way down and after seeing the girl get blown off the road I knew I had to ride towards the middle of the road so as to have room when I hit the exposed sections.  Once back to the QK I had a tailwind and cruising 35-40 mph.

I am very glad that I did that ride…and survived!  I was thinking that if this were my first IM I may have ridden straight to the airport for a flight out.”

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE RACING ON SATURDAY!!

The next long distance attempts, including one marathon and one Ironman distance event, were all completed consuming mostly water and a couple of figs and bananas. How old school is that? It wasn’t until the Oxford Triathlon in 1988, where I tried a “Powerbar” between the run and bike legs, that I felt like I was actually “racing” from start to finish rather than “surviving”. I remember thinking to myself – dang, I wonder if this is legal? I ended up winning that race and qualifying for Kona. Yes, 4.5 hours on 1 Powerbar and water – oh to be young…. In my first Kona attempt, my plan was to eat several Powerbars (about 1 every hour) and drink water. This had worked well in all of my long training efforts. Unfortunately, I failed to factor in the heat and humidity and the fact that I slowed down and took my time to open the wrappers and eat during training. Chewing and swallow isn’t as easy at 150-160 bpm. Ultimately, I finished the bike course with one Powerbar half eaten and four others in a melted, gooey mess on my top tube. Try as I might, to get something solid down during the run, the best I could do was drink the Gatorade and water at the aid stations. Fortunately, going into it, I had decided to “cruise” rather than “race”. I wanted to see what the event was all about and didn’t want to relive my previous Ironman experience. I stayed very much at a “fat burning” effort level so I didn’t suffer too badly for my lack of fuel, and finished in a little over 9 hours.

I came to realize, the best way to fuel during a race was liquid nutrition – solids and chewing did not work – at least not for me. Over the next two years, in my Ironman races, I attempted to consume and replace the same amount of calories I was burning – all liquid. Yeah, think Carnation Instant Breakfast and Ensure meal replacement drinks. Seriously? Well, at least I was able to get it down. Unfortunately, most of it didn’t stay down. I can laugh about it now but…. It’s kind of hard to believe it took that long to get wise to the fact that one could never replace what one burned while exercising, at least not in real-time and on an hourly basis. Even then, in 1991, I still didn’t get it quite right and was somewhat under fueled – I drank only Gatorade from the start of the bike to about mile 16 in the run. At that point, I ran out of gas. Between miles 16 and 18 my 6 minute mile pace was reduced to a walk while I ate lots of cookies, pretzels, bananas and drank several cups of de-fizzed coca-cola. Once it all “kicked in”, I was able to run well over the last 7-8 miles to finish 3rd overall. (Of course, my wife’s response to that was something along the lines of “What!?! You were in 2nd place and gaining on 1st and you finished in 3rd?!? How did you screw that up?”)

It was at that point that I truly began to study the science behind endurance sports nutrition. Water, Gatorade – not enough. Solid food, 800+ calories per hour – too much, insane really. Carbohydrates, mostly complex, in the form of glucose or “maltodextrin”, electrolytes, protein, branch-chain amino acids, etc. all became an integral part of training for and competing in longer distance events. It took the better part of 6 years to figure out exactly what worked for me, and what didn’t, right down to the grams of carbohydrate and protein, ounces of fluid and amounts of electrolytes per hour. Mixing up my workout “potion” required no less than 3 different products in various portions depending on the intended training session and weather forecast.

I used many different products, successfully, during my last several years as a professional triathlete, as well as during the past 14 years, as an endurance sports coach. Advanced Sports Nutrition, Twinlab, Champion Nutrition and Hammer Nutrition have all been great to work with. All, I believe, make very good products that work well and I thank them. That said, I have experienced problems with them all – both in my personal use and in use by the athlete’s I coach. Most of the products can be used “as suggested” for most athletes, but they often require some “tweaking” to make them more palatable or to get just the right amount of carbohydrate, protein and electrolytes for individual needs. In other cases, athletes are just more finicky than others when it comes to taste, flavor and consistency and won’t drink the product whether it works or not. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have received a call the night before an athlete’s race asking about what should be mixed in each of their bottles and how many scoops of this and how many scoops of that, etc. Worse is the call after the race with the tale of how “I stopped drinking because the drinks just didn’t appeal to me or taste good….” If you don’t drink it, it’s not going to work.

Enter Infinit Nutrition. Infinit Nutrition came onto the scene 7 years ago and, at the time, I thought it was a great concept. Several athletes I coach began using it, loved it and use it to this day. I knew then, it was not just a great concept, but a great product. However, having used Hammer Nutrition products for so many years, I was reluctant to make any changes. As they say, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. I would only go so far as recommending Infinit to athletes when they found, after many trials, that Hammer products simply did not work for them. Over these past few years, the number of those athletes has gradually increased, particularly when training for and competing at the Ironman distance events. In some cases, it is a taste or flavor issue, in others it stems from problems with soy protein and what happens to the mix after it gets warm. Other athletes find it too cumbersome and confusing to know which product to use when, which to mix with another or how many pills of this or that to take and how often, etc. The bottom line, IMHO, comes down to OSMOLALITY. It’s a big, hoy-floy word and I know just about everyone starts to glaze over when it’s mentioned, let alone explained. The best way to think of it is this – everything that gets mixed into an energy drink affects how well it can be absorbed and emptied from your stomach. Mix in too much stuff and it becomes more difficult and, potentially, impossible to absorb. Some nutrition experts would have you believe that simple sugars are the “devil incarnate” and should be avoided like the plague. Make no mistake, excessive sugar in your diet or your energy drink will cause problems. However, used judiciously and in appropriate amounts that maintain optimal OSMOLALITY (yes, it can be done) they can make for a better tasting drink AND can actually enable higher absorption and oxidation rates of carbohydrates than a single complex carbohydrate mix.

Infinit Nutrition addresses all of this with truly custom blended mixes, enabling athletes to custom design a drink mix to fit their exact individual needs. The flavor, amount and type of carbohydrate, amount of protein, electrolytes, caffeine, anti-oxidants and amino acids can all be adjusted. And they guarantee optimal osmolality of your blend. Once your ideal blend is determined, it becomes as simple as 2 scoops in a water bottle and be on your way. I like simple.

So, this past summer, I decided to try Infinit products for myself. I think I was “sold” when drinking their “preset” Ride Formula. The taste and consistency made me think it was their version of other basic carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks. It was not “heavy” like other mixes that include protein and it actually tasted good – warm or cold. I was very surprised when I saw that it did, in fact, contain protein in the blend. I have always found that I, personally, perform better with some protein during exercise – really, regardless of the length of the workout or race – a little less for shorter and more for longer. Unfortunately, most of the carbohydrate/protein products available – both premixed and more often for me, custom mixed – are too “thick” to easily get down, especially if they are not ice cold.

I am proud to come on board with the Infinit Nutrition team and call Infinit the Official Drink of Devlin Coaching.   I am currently working with Infinit to develop my own custom blended mixes that will be available soon. Use them as designed or use them as a starting point when developing your own ideal drink.