GKE Newsletter February

Rock 'n' Rolling in February.  We are getting deep into the race season now in the Southern Hemisphere with local state champs, Geelong 70.3, Dubai 70.3, the MetaSprint Series and many other swim, bike and run events happening for the GK crew! On the horizon is the Rottnest channel swim, Columbo 70.3, Ironman New Zealand and Powerman Malaysia just to name a few. It's an exciting time of the year,  which we hope you are all enjoying!

COACHES CORNER As Coaches we get asked a lot of different questions, but one that keeps popping up is: Q: What can I do to get better? A: Be Consistent There are a lot of things that can happen in our every day lives that challenge our routines, and sometimes they make consistency near impossible. As coaches, we do understand stuff happens and some important points to remember are: Try not to play catch up on any missed sessions.  One massive day won't make up for the days you've missed. The reality is it will make you more tired and likely unable to achieve sessions and targets set for you a few days later. It is much better to be as consistent as possible,  rather than a super hero on any one day!! Talk to your coach. If you miss something, let it go... but tell your coach so they can mange your load or make adjustments as required. If you are regularly struggling to make a certain session, or to fit something in,  talk to your coach so you can work together to come up with a better solution.  We know you are human and life sometimes gets in the way. All we ask is for you to try to do the best you can. GLUTE ACTIVATION Recently we have had a lot of you asking about Glute activation after realising that your hamstrings and quads are doing all the work,  and they shouldn't be.  There are two ways to encourage this to happen. One is mental, the other is physical. Check out this video,  7 WAY HIPS , which demonstrates some great hip and glute activation exercises. It is a nice refresher on why it's important to engage your glutes while running (and cycling), plus how you actually do this.  When to use Elastic laces? Pro's and Con's? Elastic shoe laces are a fantastic invention for triathletes. The laces reduce the time it takes to put your shoes on and get running by removing any fumbling you get with standard tie-up laces (especially if you have cold/tired hands). This improvement is possible for all athletes, whether you’re finishing on the podium or further down the field. If you want to finish with a quicker time overall, then elastic laces are a great buy and, as a relatively cheap purchase, you’re getting very good bang for your buck considering the potentially high time saving.  Thoughts about comfort and support are common among athletes thinking about going elastic. Yes, triathlon's elastic laces can lessen the shoe’s support, but there are a number of designs that aim to reduce this, such as Xtentex laces with bobbles on to reduce slippage while retaining comfort similar to that of a normal tie-up lace.   It’s certainly useful to practise with elastic laces, and work on getting your shoe on quicker for T2, but running too frequently with elastic laces may well be detrimental to your biomechanics.  Most running shoes are designed to be worn with standard laces, and the extra movement of your foot in the shoe when wearing elastic laces can result in the shoe not doing the job it’s made to do. Use over a longer period, could increase your risk of injury. This also means that they are generally more suitable for shorter distance races rather than middle and long distances.  To get around this, you could always opt to have a pair of triathlon racing shoes with elastic laces on permanently,  and a separate training pair with regular shoe laces. Alternatively, you could just change laces before each race. Whichever option you choose, most people find that elastic laces are a beneficial investment that will ultimately lead to faster transition times without detriment. So to sum this up: I would use them for Sprint and Olympic distance races (also practice at bike/run intervals) I would not use them for Half and Ironman where your biomechanics can really start to come apart! (if you are a strong runner you can possible get away with running in them for a half, but talk with your coach before hand) GKE ATHLETES OUT & ABOUT!  Lots of GK athletes getting their fitness on. Love seeing you all out there. keep it up. Remember that one little word : Consistency! GEAR THAT CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION This rear hydration unit by Profile Design,  https://profile-design.com/collections/rear-systems/products/rmp-1 , is the best I've ever used.. especially if you like keeping bottles on your bike. I haven't launched a bottle from this rear cage since I started using it over a year ago.  GETTING TO KNOW YOU 10 Quick Questions with Sam Alborn How did you first get involved in Triathlon? Some of the rugby girls do it in the off season and if it burns calories/means I can eat more sign me up.  What are your goals for the coming year? Busso 70.3 Sunshine Coast 70.3 (team) and New York Marathon What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you at a Triathlon, running, swimming or cycling event? Doing a swim with the tactical response group guys and not realising my bather top had ridden up well past my big kahunas  What is your favourite movie? End of watch Where is your favourite place to relax? Pub :) What is your best characteristic? Commitment. Like my commitment to eating What is your worst habit? Getting ready for a work out… and then having a little siesta on the couch for a few hours instead What is your favourite "go to" post race/event meal? 4 hash browns and a soda Do you have any pre-race rituals? Wee in the water right before the start. You’re welcome What are you most afraid of? A cop who is afraid of the dark SH#T Triathlete's say. Still very funny and surprising true!! Do you want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

GKE Newsletter January 2019

It's been far to long since we've reached out with a GK newsletter. So with that said,  we will endeavour to keep you all up to date often with what's happening in the world of GK Endurance. 2018 was a great year and we are excited about what 2019 has to offer. Needless to say there is lots of exciting stuff going down, some of which we will highlight today! YAY

COACHES CORNER So what's happening in the Coaching Corner....We do have some new and exciting additions to the GK Program. As you all know we provide programmes that are individual to you. BUT we do know there is a strong social side to training and sometimes that brings out the best in you.  So in addition to the Thursday morning intervals, we now have the following sessions available thanks to coach Janine. SWIM - Monday/ Wednesday and Friday morning from 530-7am at Arena Joondalup. If you are interested in attending these, please contact Janine and she'll be able to give you the low down. You will have lots of company at these sessions!!  - Sunday: OWS morning in the shark net at Sorrento at 6am (45min-1hr) with wetsuits. Meeting in the carpark in front of the net. Followed by a long run along the coast per your personal plan BIKE - Tuesday AM  Cycling interval session starting from Hillary's Marina boat ramp side at 5:30am (See the map on the private facebook page) - Thursday AM: Shelley Foreshore Intervals (Meet at the raffles at 5:30 am) RUN - Thursday PM : Run session at MacDonald Park, Forrest Rd, Padbury at 6pm. Suitable for all levels and working on your speed and VO2 max   More details of the sessions can be found on the GK private facebook page or you can contact your coach for more info.  aThere has been a lot of talk recently about the "Keto Diet" and in particular for athletes.   Should you go zero carbs? We aren't dieticians, and if looking for professional advice, you should seek out a qualified Dietician. That said, we have had some experience in this area, and can tell you what worked for us and what didn't. Hopefully that will help answer some questions you might have. Try not to listen to everybody who has an opinion on dieting and the do's and don't. Listen to your coaches or as I said, seek professional advice. Keto: I write this from my personal experience. It totally sucked (this is Guy btw)  Straight to the point - I hated it! My muscles ached. I was grumpy. My training suffered.  I was just all round miserable for the entire 3 week experience. I would rather NOT do it again.  WHY? Well because my body relies on sugar to burn energy, and it wasn't very good at burning fat. A lot of you might think "but your skinny". Yes I am, but that doesn't mean I burn fat well. I burn energy at a fast rate due mostly to genetics.  So I changed my diet and kept to low carbs. Why? Well because I want to burn fat. But I also want to be able to train and not be grumpy all the time.  So how did I go about changing my sugar burning body to fat burning.  Here's what I did and I believe it worked: 1) For 1 or 2 sessions per week I would only have a black coffee before working out.  Now - I don't want you to get carried away here. These session are low intensity and if longer than 75min then I would incorporate carbs of some sort.  Anything of high Intensity I would eat before hand.  2) I swapped out my bad carbs for good carbs.  I eat a LOT of bread. I love it, but it doesn't help the fat burning process. Our dietitian recommended using Sourdough. So now I eat a crap load of that!! No white or multigrain anymore. I eat Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, cous cous etc.  3) I also time my carb intake.  Typically I will eat carbs immediately after training and limit them at dinner.  4) Snacks.  I used to go for a packet of Tim Tams or a loaf of bread (anything that had sugar in it), and I sometimes still do, because I have little will power! But now I try my best to snack on nuts and seeds, coconut yoghurt, avocado and I love Peanut Butter!  Kate and I make our own cereal with an assortment of nuts and seeds, and add almond milk, dairy free yogurt (as there is next to no sugar in it ) and crunchy peanut butter. It's super tasty and really filling.  These simple changes allowed me to keep training properly and also start metabolising fat better!! For me, this was a good compromise. A lot of triathletes have A type personalities and will take the fat burning diet too far so taking this approach was a healthy middle ground.  Side note: I also have a cheat day every week where I eat whatever I want. Why? Because life is too short not to have a Tim Tam.   G GKE ATHLETES OUT & ABOUT!  Great to see so many athletes representing GK Endurance during the off season and abroad. It's always brilliant to see a flash of red and black pass you by! GEAR THAT CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION The Obsessed triathlete website,  is a great resource to compare Ironman and 70.3 race course difficulty and overall trends. If you're a data nerd like me I promise you'll especially love the 'stats' element on the site. GETTING TO KNOW YOU 10 Quick Questions with Tracy Denning   How did you first get involved in Triathlon? My former boss’ daughter had signed up for her first 70.3 at Yeppoon in 2011 and my boss said ‘you can run and swim and you also teach spin classes - you can do it too!’ So I signed up several months before the event but only got a coach and an actual training program 6 weeks before!  I really enjoyed the 6 weeks of training with swim, bike, run up til the event and luckily for me I had some base fitness (through running marathons) so I was able to JUST get things together in time for race day. I had no idea about nutrition or gear - I cramped badly on the run (the one and only time I have had to actually stop and walk due cramps in a race). I finished it though! And I fell in love with the sport. What are your goals for the coming year? I am still in a bit of disbelief when I type or say ‘Im racing Ultraman Australia in 2019’. Ultraman is my one and only focus at the moment. I am not sure what goals I will set after that event but I have a lot of mini goals to achieve before May to ensure I get to the start line prepared. What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you at a Triathlon, running, swimming or cycling event? This wasn’t really an event but cycling related embarrassing incident. Very early in mine and Al’s relationship we decided to go for a romantic get away to Bright in Victoria. The trip was in June so it was winter, freezing and not suitable for riding up the mountains. I was still a very green rider (had been riding 9 months only) and wanted to impress my new flame by riding up Mount Buffalo while we were away. Long story cut short - I had to phone my new boyfriend for rescuing while I sat shivering at the top of Mount Buffalo. I got up the mountain ok - but the carbon brake pads didn’t work on the icy road on the way down! What is your favourite movie? Too hard to pick one movie! Favourite book is much easier - Tully by Paulina Simons Where is your favourite place to relax? Bright in Victoria What is your best characteristic? Committed What is your worst habit? Al would say not putting lids on things properly, but I would say my worst habit is stressing about time. I get so tense when I am ‘running late’ (even though running late means only being 5 minutes early) and I also get frustrated at others who are late. It exhausts me a lot of the time and I get annoyed at myself as I know I am highly strung about it! What is your favourite "go to" post race/event meal? Eating hot chips of course! Dad and I always get fish and chips after I race and share stories of the days events. Do you have any pre-race rituals? - Dad always buys me x2 mars bars before big races. They sit in the fridge and wait to be eaten after the fish and chips post race. - Braided hair (two braids) What are you most afraid of? Pooing my pants in a race and Spiders.  We are planning this for our next GKE OW session - any takers??

Get In Amongst It.

GET IN AMONGST IT! 

Taking on your first triathlon should be a fun experience. 

Or Maybe’s it not your first but your looking to improve on a few areas? 

We hope the read below will motivate, relax, entertain and ultimately help you have fun and race faster. 

THE TRIATHLON:

TIP ONE

Embrace the challenge and throw yourself in there to have a good time. 

Getting stressed won’t help, So stay relaxed and Get In Amongst It.

TIP TWO

When searching for advice on how best to prepare for your race/event. Choose one person in the know. Don’t get advice from every single person you meet on the street. This will just leave you confused and overwhelmed as every-one will have an opinion on how you should be “triathloning”. Look for a coach or someone who’s been in triathlon for a while as they will be able to steer you in the right direction without sending you a spreadsheet on aerodynamics. 

TIP THREE

Train for your triathlon.

This might be coming in a bit late for this weekends event. But there is always another event around the corner. So get those knuckles to the grindstone. (Just kidding, training is fun so enjoy the time and use it as ME TIME)

But what If you don’t feel motivated? And what if it’s raining? These are good questions. 

If it’s a motivation issue!! Put on your favourite music, maybe that’s Madonna or Disturbed and go do it anyway. You’ll feel better afterwards I promise. 

If it’s raining and you have a ride, ride on the indoor trainer and watch something on Netflix.  OR swap your days around so you run instead of ride. 

TIP FOUR

Enjoy the process. Triathlon is so much fun. It’s a great way to get out there and meet like minded people while exercising and having a great time. Racing is the icing on the cake when it comes to triathlon, It is the reward for the hard work. So enjoy the process and then enjoy the race even more. 

TIPS FOR SWIM/BIKE/RUN

SWIM: If the swim makes you a little anxious or you are a little nervous,  I have found the following things help. Wait a few seconds for the quicker swimmers to take off before diving in. Don’t put yourself in the middle of your start wave. Put yourself to the side away from the chaos. 

BIKE: Build into it. Finish at the same speed you start. It’s easy to get excited and go to MAX during the early stages of the race. But an even paced ride will mean you ride faster and leave you feeling fresh for the run.

Also focus on hydration! The bike is the easiest place to take in fluids and those fluids will be needed for the run.

RUN: Quick feet are happy feet. 

The run is generally the toughest part AND the most rewarding. If you’re starting to struggle think quick feet are happy feet. Picking up your cadence on the run can help speed you up without you even knowing it. 

The less time those feet spend on the ground the quicker you will run. This can happen without a huge increase in effort. 

Here are a few more picture related tips.  Some of these quotes might be slightly left field. (Just go with it)

1: Never Give Up!! Go get that goal!!

2. Temptation: Triathlon is a temptation you MUST TRI. “you’ll love it” 

3. Yeah probably don’t Skydive. But triathlon is 100% for you. It’s all about having a go and enjoying yourself. 

4. Ok I can’t think of a good reference, except for “go get yourself some triathlon awesomeness”. 

5. This one is particularly relevant and probably the most important TIP for a smooth day. Plan your triathlon out beforehand. This will make race day a breeze. Avoiding stressful situations will mean you’re not the “some-one else” in the quote below. So lay out your race gear the night before. Swim/bike/run, sort out your nutrition, travel, know where you are going, allow plenty of time to get there, hydrate. If it’s planned out in advance it’s not stressful. If you’re in a rush and don’t know where you put your helmet things can get upsetting!  ☺

6. Stay Positive. Not just in training but in racing. Sometimes things go perfectly and sometimes they don’t. But when you stay positive It’s all an awesome experience!  

  

New to Duathlon

The Duathlon

Run-Bike-Run

What you need to know!

Beginning your race with a solid hard run rather than a swim can have a significant affect on your bike and second run.  Therefor you will notice a difference between competing for a Triathlon and competing in a Duathlon. But they are both just as fun and challenging!

The Equipment:

Remember to check all your gear the day before.

Race morning is always more stressful when you forget your shoes or a piece of your equiptment.  So avoiding any unessecery stress is always the best policy.

Make sure your bike is in good working order. A lot of people tend to neglect their bikes and run into problems on race morning. Making sure you have a mechanical check and/or service of your bike leading into the event will give you confidence in your equipment and go a long way in relieving some of that race mornign stress.

Don’t forget to pump up your tires before you leave home.

I mentally go through the race in my head as I’m packing my gear and as I go through my race (see below) I put the gear into my transition bag. 

Starting with the first run

• 1     The clothes I’m going to wear. (Clothes aren’t optional apparently)
• 2     Shoes and socks to run in
• 3     Watch / Garmin or Heart Rate Monitor if you want to track/record your result
• 4     Hat
• 5     Sunscreen
• 6     Glasses to run in
• 7     Race belt (if I need one) Inlcuding Race Number
• 8     Nutrition – if I need to carry any on the run

 When I get to my bike

• 1   Helmet,
• 2 Cycling shoes if I’m changing them
• 3Hydration/electrolytes (bottles are on the bike and ready)

Off the bike

• 1  All the gear I used for the first run (Should be there waiting for me)
• 2    Plus an extra drink, so I can keep hydrating for the second run

The Venue

• 1    Know were the venue is and where to park
• 2    Rack your bike and know how to get to it. Walk though transition so you know how to get in and out. Remember things look different when there are less or more bikes around, so pick a land mark
• 3   Bring a bright towel to mark your spot/bike in transition.

Pace

Duathlons are very important to pace correctly.

There is no point in smashing the first run, only to end up walking the second run because you’ve spent all your pennies.

Start the race at a strong but “sustainable effort” You will benenfit from a more conservative start.

Bike Pace: Remember a constant effort is always better than riding really hard, then really easy. Constant speed on the bike will enable you to run better than having your heart rate spike up and down.

When you spike your heart rate you “burn a match” and after you’ve spiked your heart rate 5 or 6 times there are no more matches left to burn. This is when you start to slow down!

Keeping the effort constant/steady will ensure you hit the 2^nd run feeling Like Mo Farah at the Olympics.

Nerves:

It’s ok to be Nervous. It’s normal and it means you’re excited and ready to race.

Ensure you keep sipping on an electrolyte drink during the morning “pre race”. Sometimes the nerves get the better of us and we forget to do the simple things. Like drink and hyrdate.

Final Notes:

Make sure you have fun, stay in the moment and enjoy yourselves!!

Guy and Kate