"Stress" by BR Head Coach Joao @joaoarteche

Heart rate is one of the ‘vital signs,’ and one of the most important indicators of health in the human body. It is the measurement of how many times per minute the heart contracts, called as beats or BPM (beats per minute).

Few notes on the cardiovascular system.

The heart and blood vessels are the two elements of the cardiovascular system they work together in providing nutrients and oxygen to the organs of the body. The synchronized actions between our heart and the blood circulation are mainly triggered to react from an external factor, that most of the times is called: Stress.

At this point we will break a bit the science and build our concept of the word STRESS, from the called vulgar Latin, strictia meaning tight, compressed, and drawn together.

Our society has been using this word to describe many different situations that are challenging or put us under pressure or even could be harmful. Those situations are most of the time uncontrollable and not necessarily negative, our system is designed to handle certain amount of stress as a mechanism of adaptation.

The response of our body to different stimulus is actually a chain of reactions that activate the “FIGHT” mode.

Now imagine this 3 massive Lions coming for you… running full speed, hungry and instinctively they see you as a meal…

Let’s try to think what are the changes that are going to happen in our body to react, first we will have a very quick release of many hormones called “stress hormones”, such as Cortisol also our blood pressure will increase, our digestion system slows down, Immune System “shut down” and because our system adapt to deliver quick energy into the muscles and organs we start to convert glycogen to glucose, and at the same time our HEART RATE increase.

So now we have our system “Ready to Fight”.

We all have to agree, that there is nothing wrong to run away from a Lion, and we are very thankful that we don’t have to think about to produce those reactions, they natural and part of our survival package.

Did you realise that the situation on the example required a physical reaction from us; in this case RUN AWAY from those lions is probably the only solution. All those reactions from our body are a preparation to allow us to run or act as fast as possible, and physically be able to save our life.

What is the difference when the solution is not physical?

Let’s bring another example, imagine now that you had big problem with your work or family, or are going through a hard time…

How does our body read this information?

Here is something interesting, for our body there is no difference between the 3 lions or our work problem, the way our system will react is related to the intensity of the situation, but the reactions are 99% the same. Trying to solve a big problem at work can have the same impact in our body as running away from lion, because our Central Nervous System does not differentiate the situation, as both impact our system the same way.

Both situations are called Acute Stress, meaning those episodes that happen once in a while, we react, adapt and once they are gone our body comes back to the normal state. However, there are some situations that are constantly generating stress in our lives.

Chronic stress, or a constant stress experienced over a prolonged period of time is considered one of the biggest problems of our modern society. The “hunting” for better position, the need of money plus the natural life situations can easily cause chronic diseases generated by the constant “alert” state of our body.

Many people these days can’t differentiate if they are under stress or not.

What are the signs that we should look then?

Using those physical reactions that I mentioned earlier such us:

-       Cortisol release: Stress Hormone

-       Slow down digestion system

-       Immune System “shut down”

-       Conversion of energy into glucose (quick energy release)

-       Increase of blood pressure

-       Increase of Heart Rate

Each one of those reactions will generate a different consequence in our body, and over time because a more serious health problem. In general, a chronic stress could reflect:

-       Irritability, which can be extreme

-       Fatigue

-       Headaches

-       Difficulty concentrating, or an inability to do so

-       Rapid, disorganized thoughts

-       Difficulty sleeping

-       Digestive problems

-       A perceived loss of control

It is important to understand also, that chronic stress is a process that is built over years and has very deep impact in our body, and some situations are probably impossible to control so the idea of trying to “Not get stresses” it is also one of the mistakes that our society have. As we saw, our system is prepared to overcome the stress, to fight and adapt, there is nothing wrong in having a hard time to solve a problem, to have a difficult conversation or to confront someone, this is normal and part of our live we can’t and we should not run away from that.

Some stressful situations are the foundation of our life and will create memories to be used in the future. Living those experiences, exploring with open mind, searching for the “learning” from each new moment. Our body doesn’t know if something is really a stress unless we consciously categorized as a harmful situation this is also important to understand. A situation become a stressful episode when we consciously perceive that moment as a pressure or complication, that is why each person has completely different perception of how stressful the same situation can be.

What can we do?

Of course the solution is not to escape from the situations because we will not be able to avoid things to happen around us, so the moment that we understand and accept that something is really happening and there is no way that we can escape, avoid or stop, we transform this situation in a positive experience in terms of learning.

To position ourselves one step back, trying to analyze from “outside” what is really what us creating the stress, allow our system to create a new pattern to the same episode that once was a stress, generating an enormous amount of reactions, now is a situation of our life, that is new; it will demand a new skills; it will take us out of our comfort zone; it will made us stronger, it will make us better…

Hope you enjoyed!

"Challenging Open Water" by Coach Marco @moromarco

A few years ago, I read a very interesting and curious book about swimming and in particular about the figure of the swimmer seen as a solitary hero.

The title is Haunts of the Black Masseur written by Charles Sprawson. The author leads us on a journey through the centuries to discover this ancient sport and the meaning that different cultures have attributed to water. Swimming here is not seen as a mere lapping in a swimming pool with a black line underneath, but it is intended as a loving contact of the body with the water, the sea, a river, a lake... it is the call of the deep, cold waters, it is the adrenaline of diving into the waves of a stormy sea.
When I was a kid, I loved the sea at the end of the season, towards the beginning of September, when the first storms arrived. I would throw myself into the waves and get carried to the shore.

Swimming in open water can give you the same sensations, a mix of fear and adrenaline.

My first experience happened a summer many years ago, I went to visit my family who was on vacation in Puglia, in Castro Marina, right at the end of the heel of Italy. One day, by chance, I read an advertisement about an amateur Open Water Swimming Competition scheduled right there: the crossing of the Zinzulusa Caves. I don't know why I had brought the goggles with me, but it came automatically to register. I still remember the starting from the inside of the cave and the beauty of those 2,500 meters of clear sea, the seabed was of ​​an intense blue color, I felt like suspended and quite afraid... There were few participants, I could see a white jellyfish passing by every now and then, the foam of a distant swimmer, steep cliffs more than 10 meters high on my right side… “who knows what is hidden underneath” I thought, a sudden knot in the stomach. It was so amazing that I almost forgot that I was racing. But what I didn’t even think about was putting an anti-chafe cream on my body: for two days I walked with my arms and legs wide apart and every time I took a shower it was such a pain. 

My first official race was the Master Open Water Championship crossing Gaeta’s Gulf in 2004 or 2005, not too sure. Gaeta is a very beautiful place 100 kilometers south of Rome. The course was simple: start from one end of the gulf and get to the other end, no mark nor signal. As only reference point they told me to aim at a tall white building that seemed very far and small. The distance was indefinite but for sure more than three kilometers. The start was from the water, all together, men and women.

At a certain point, at what I thought was halfway, I didn't see anyone around me, and I was very surprised smelling petrol. I stopped and raised my head: I was approached by the boat of the organization and one of the judges asked me “where are you going???”. I looked around and I realized that I was alone, in the middle of the sea, still very far from the white building and I was swimming left towards the open sea. That happened because I was swimming with my head in the water without looking anywhere as if I was swimming in the pool.

This was one of the first lessons I learned: always look ahead of you, as much as you can. It is fundamental to find a rhythm and to get used to this, for example lift your head every four to six strokes.

Fortunately, in my short but intense career in water polo I learned many tricks that I found useful later. First, In water polo, when swimming with lifted head, the stroke must be shorter, faster and the elbows higher to better control the ball in front of you; swimming in OW you should increase your frequency because the current and the choppy conditions can easily make you lose your bearings and a higher arm recovery because if it’s too low your hand could enter the water too early or be hit by a wave, causing you to lose balance. At the same time arch your back while lifting your head and kick extra hard for a moment while you are sighting. Second, the Trudgen technique, a frog kick every free style stroke: I often use it when I have to orient myself but at the same time I don't want to stop. Last but not least, swimming with others; in the mass start, at the buoys turning point or at any overcrowded spot, I must confess I am one of those pulling you by the leg or swimming on top of you.

 

Even from the adverse sea conditions you can learn many things. The swimming fractions during the first Challenge 70.3 Dubai and The Escape From Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay are two great examples. On the morning of Challenge Dubai, the wind blew at 50 km/h in the small bay which corresponds now the 6.9 km signal of the beach running track. Because of the choppy sea, the swimming course was changed in two 800 meters laps: I still cannot believe how they allowed us to swim in those conditions!

 

In San Francisco it was also a windy and cold morning, there was no difference between the temperature of the air and of the water: no more than 12 degrees. That leap with my eyes closed from the Belle Boat into the icy water of San Francisco Bay was only the beginning. Immediately, the strong current coming from the left and the waves from the right began to wobble me like if I was a sack of potatoes.

In these difficult conditions, I learned to read the sea as surfers do. They count the sequence of waves waiting for the right one. As swimmers, if we can interpret the rhythm of the waves, their direction or height, we will be able to understand when it is time to breathe and in which direction without being overwhelmed by the wave, to feel our body rise and fall on the swells and to sight accordingly... But only once we have jumped into the water and the first waves have slapped us, we will really understand all of this.

As Sprawson says: "The main quality needed by swimmers is to ‘feel the water’. They should use their arms and legs like fish and fins, and be able to feel the pressure of the water on their hands to keep it in the palm during the stroke, without letting it slip between their fingers."

"Resistance" By Coach Mohammed H. Hafiz

 

In these unprecedented times we look deep into ourselves and ask questions. Our answers and reactions to these questions are always being challenged by our own resistance. Just like riding a bike up the mountain, you are going to face resistance going up. Understanding the gradient and the terrain of the mountain will always help you prepare.

Resistance is a powerful enemy that you should never underestimate. We all have resistance inside of us. Some of us know it and some of us don’t realise it exists. It has many different faces and can take many forms in your mind. Resistance stops you from living the life that you want to live. It is powerful and has a few tricks up its sleeve. Understanding those tricks can help you better prepare for that climb.

We are constantly in dialog with ourselves, can I do this? Should I do this? Why I am doing this? Especially when we are about to embark on a challenging workout. Like what some of us attempted two weeks ago “Everesting” not easy! Deep inside you want to attempt it but then comes the voice of resistance. Why should you? Just go on the flats! What’s the point! Do it when you can go outdoors! Does it really matter? Resistance will make you doubt yourself; it will make you procrastinate; it will make you come up with excuses.

After a long week you look at your TP and realize you have a run or maybe a long swim which I am not a fan of. Going back and forth in a pool is not something I personally enjoy. I know this long swim will be a battle. So, the dialog starts. Resistance first weapon of choice, do it tomorrow! So, I decide no! Today I will go for that swim. I get to the pool and its full of kids screaming their lungs out and no lanes are available, and the sun is scorching down on my head. I ask one of the swimmers if I can join his lane? he gives me an annoyed nod. I dip my feet in the pool and its hot and by then I decide maybe this is not my day. I actually did not decide anything. Its only my own resistance working hard to deter me from my ultimate goal. So, I finally start swimming and its hard just doing the 300m warm up let alone the sprints and the annoying 100m hard swims. I go through the emotions, but I got so far now I can’t quit. I am still in dialog with myself but now I am negotiating the total distance! I focus on the session and slowly I start to find a rhythm and all that dialog starts to fade away in the water. I get close to my total distance and I finally finish. Many of you will know that feeling once you’re done with a workout that you mentally did not want to do. Now you feel like you’re on top of the world. You beat your own resistance.

To be able to challenge yourselves listen to the resistance inside you and see it for what it is. Be mindful of it. It will get the worse out of you sometimes, but you will win many battles now that you know what you are up against.

"Structure, Routine and Reward" by Coach Melina

So here we are, it's April; at least I think it is! This ordinarily is when we start to shift our focus on our summertime A-Race. Only this year, it’s all very different. Instead, we are experiencing a period of high anxiety, and lots of unknowns. For us, as athletes (and as parents, professionals or whatever other role we fulfil) we thrive on structure and goals to work towards. We all had an amazing season planned with much excitement building towards it. And in what feels like a pretty surreal few weeks, all has changed. For now, at least.

• How do we even muster the motivation to train?
• It’s easy to wonder: Well, what’s the point?
• And even if we are motivated, how do we manage it?
• How do we fill our time without being overwhelmed?

The first thing to address here is the mental burden of everything currently going on, understand why we may be struggling, and figure out strategies to help mitigate the effect. This is a once in a generation thing (at least we hope so!). Its unchartered times and the primary issue is uncertainty. That alone can be extremely detrimental to our mental health. Limbo is not a nice place to be! So how do we deal with it? Churchill was famously noted to say: If you find yourself going through hell, just keep going! And he was right. We will get through this, we just don’t know when, so we need to keep moving. It doesn’t mean its easy but there are little things we can do to help alleviate the uncertainty.

Priority now is to keep our mental health in check. As we said previously, as athletes, we love structure. So, as much as possible add structure to your day and create boundaries where you can. We are used to having distinct areas of work, training, relaxation. Now, all these are one! We live, work, train, home-school, chill, in one space, and in many cases one small space. Create clear boundaries on which area is for what purpose.

Have a plan. Write out a structure to your day. Share that with your family, if possible, include them as well. So, you know (roughly) at any given point what you should be doing. This will help avoid wondering: “what now?”, “what next?’” Take yourself out of limbo. For this reason, exercise and training is now, more than ever before, important. This is no longer a case of keeping it going so that you’re ready when races start again.

• It’s about improving and protecting your mental health
• Giving yourself structure, routine and a sense of achievement too
• Having something to look forward to.

Structure, Routine and Reward are critical in coping with uncertainty.

And be mindful that we are all in a bit of a bubble right now. So, our emotions, our responses are heightened and amplified. But remember this may be the new normal, but it is a temporary normal. It will pass!

Training Goals: Usually, we have races to focus on. Right now, we don’t have any, and we don’t know when we will. But our goals haven’t changed. They are delayed but they are still there. And we are still working towards them. But in the meantime, it’s time to set some new ones. Effective goal setting can not only help performance directly, but it has a big impact on our psychological state so things like anxiety, confidence and motivation.

Consider the following three types of goals:

• Outcome goals: These are usually related to events, they are motivating, they are exciting and usually have our “Why”, but they are not usually goals that we have much control over.
• Performance goals: These are related to aspects of performance; they are usually easy to measure and monitor so they can provide you with feedback on your progress. Things like power, speed and pace.  And as we all know, can be a big boost in confidence and motivation. There’s nothing like that feeling when you hit all the numbers in a session!
• Can you think of any performance goals you would like to focus on right now? Maybe focusing on your FTP? Or finally breaking 25 or 20mins on a 5k run?
• Process goals: These are the foundation of any effective goal setting and they are the ones we mostly have control over. These are things we can do daily to help us achieve our performance goals. Committing to the process and focusing on all the little things, no matter how little, can have a direct impact on how your performance goes as well as your mindset. How often do we neglect core? Or flexibility and mobility? Technique in swimming and running? Now is the time to focus on these.
• What process goals could you set to help you get through the next few weeks?

Remember your “Why

One of the first things I ask athletes that I work with is ‘Why?” Are you for example doing an Ironman just because you can? Just because someone told you? These sorts of underlying motivations can make it all too easy to derail yourself when things get tough. Reminding ourselves what our why is and reconnecting with it, will help get us through the bad days. Knowing your why is a strategy that is consistently proven to help athletes achieve personal growth and peak performance.

• What is your why?

To move forward we need to develop a clear sense of purpose. So, Plan! Approach! And Challenge!

• One of the biggest obstacles we have in terms of our triathlon training is the lack of swimming. If you are lucky enough to have access to a pool, no matter how small…get some swim cords, secure them to something solid and swim!! You have your very own endless swimming pool. Set intervals based on time and off you go. Better yet, if you can place a mirror at the bottom of the pool directly below you, it’s a great opportunity to check your stroke.If you can’t run, then focus on strength work. Careful and considered at home plyo work is excellent for keeping running going and you don’t need a lot space! If you have resistance bands, some banded running can be extremely effective.
• If you don’t have a pool, stretch cords can help keep your swim going. They are easily available from many online stores and you can even make your own ones with old inner tubes. The key is to maintain functional strength and muscle memory. Again, place a mirror on the floor below you as you practice and check on your stroke. 

                                               

• If you’re struggling, remember you are part of a team. There’s over 80 of us on the WhatsApp group. And we are all in this together. You need support or encouragement, reach out.
• Set challenges to your day or your week? We’ve had the Everest Challenge and the 500s challenge. Now Ironman Virtual club has also added to it. If you are in a position to join, then do so. Let your coach know, and together you can work out the best option for you. We’re here to help you all.
• You can even add little silly challenges like, every time you go to the fridge, you have to do 5 push ups. Or if you’re going upstairs or downstairs, you do the staircase an extra once to twice.
• Break up your sessions if you have to, to fit around your day. Our schedules are all a bit out of whack right now. You may struggle to get 2-3 hours done in one go. Break it up. Its ok. It can be easy to let go, so now more than ever before, we need to push through, but we need to do it with structure, goals and above all balance! Sleep well, eat well, train smart, talk to your coach. And yes, life is a bit hectic in a different way right now, so remember when it comes to training and exercise, something is always better than nothing! So, if you don’t have time for the full thing, shorten it but do something. UNLESS YOU ARE FEELING UNWELL IN ANY WAY!

We, as your coaches, as your teammates, as your friends, are here to help you. Your plans can be adapted to suit current situations, and current goals. Take some time and reconnect with your “Why”. Take some time and figure out your current process and performance goals. Talk to your coaches. We can get through this together. We can set the plan and tackle the challenge ahead. Stay safe, stay home, stay sane, and keep moving. 1% better every day!

Transition

Some people say that in Triathlon, Nutrition is the 4^th discipline, but Transition is definitely the 5^th! We often tend to underestimate the importance of “transition” from swim to bike (T1) and bike to run (T2), spending that time for just a breather wasting precious minutes and without structuring our race tactics. Let’s have a look at physiology, psychology, logistics, sequencing and workouts that can improve our speed in T1/T2.

Why should I improve my transition?

The shorter the race and the more important is to maximize efficiency of the “operations” in transition. But also in longer competition you want to be as fast and as organized as possible not to forget nutrition, sunglasses, hat and bib belt…

More efficient = Less waste of time

We measure triathlon performance by time, and I’ve seen so many athletes losing precious minutes just because they didn’t practice enough or because they didn’t think about it. 

Physiology

Imagine having spent the last hour lying face down and all of a sudden you stand up and run! Even if you haven’t been working out, and I am specifically referring to swimming an Ironman distance, your body is going to feel a trauma. First, human body needs some time to cope with the rotation from horizontal to vertical. It’s a matter of gravity and blood flow. Second, specificity of the athletic gesture that goes from the rotational  (arms) and pulsating (legs) movement of the front crawl, to the alternating movement of the walk/run to reach your bike and finally, to the rotational (legs) propulsion on the bike implies some time for the human body to adapt. These changes in mechanics can be trained with patience and time, because abrupt transitions can cost you injuries. Cramps, distortions, falls can be mitigated by integrating your race preparation not only with Sweet Spots, but also reviewing your transition skills. 

Psychology

Either you come out of the water first or last, spectators will be cheering loud! And when you dismount your bike to start the run they will be even louder.

If you want to get your heart rate skyrocketing, you can do it just with excitement feeling the adrenaline of those moments. Maybe it’s your first triathlon, maybe your family and friends are the spectators cheering for you, we know that in those two moments you will be dealing with something else than fatigue: a higher heart rate for your next leg.

Your coach has briefed you on the power/heart rate zones which you need to keep for your best performance, but you start pedaling/running and it’s just too much.

As a coach and athlete, there are two ways that I find useful to “control” this situation of psychological stress.

The first is to identify a power/pace/RPE which will allow you to get back the heart rate to the advertised Zone. Keeping a relatively high cadence at the beginning of both bike and run will make sure that the effort is more controlled, and it would be easier to “bring the heart rate down”.

The second is to visualize T1/T2. What do I mean by that?

Going to transition early is a sound procedure in order to review the route from the exit of the swim to the mount line and from the dismount line to the beginning of the run. By doing this you will get familiar with the surface you are going to run, with the place where your gear is located and the distances that you will have to cover in transition.

Doing this is a way to reduce surprises and things you can’t control.

Logistics

Hanging the bike

First triathlon you want to get on site and check in your bike early enough so that you can prepare everything following a precise checklist. You can look around to have an idea on how the other athletes are managing their assigned space.

If on one side seeing this picture is going to give you peace of mind…

Few hours later you may get a panic attack when the transition area is filled up with bicycles and people sprinting around! In this mess and lack of oxygen, it is imperative that you look in advance for some landmarks to retrieve your bicycle and run gear.

In local races, normally there is no racking a bike and run bag, and the space assigned to you is very limited and close by your bike, which should be hanged by the seat in a way that you can see the number on the rack (if present). If in doubt look around your spot and match your neighbour.

Space available

As mentioned before, space available changes races to races.

For IRONMAN brand races you normally have two different bags where you put the material which you need on the subsequent phase.

For example, coming out of the water you will find a Bike bag hanging at some numbered racks (get some reference points also there because they are really crowded), where you will put your bike stuff.

With those bags you normally access a changing tent where you can maneuver stuff out (the one you need for the next leg) and stuff in (the one you just used like wetsuit, swim cap,  goggles). I can recommend wearing the helmet  and the bib belt right away.

For short races, instead you will normally have to set your towel with the stuff on top, close to your bike.

Once you rack your machine you will see a small place on the floor, let's say, 40cm by 60cm. This is where you have to lay your stuff.

After a couple of triathlons I started placing the bike shoes on the pedals to be able to run through T1 and make a flying transition.

Also the Pros can have difficulties sometimes, so take it easy and take your time.

To make sure that the bike shoes will stay balanced without dragging on the surface through  the entire transition area I use the notorious elastic band hooked up on the rear wheel skewer.

As soon as you can jump on the bike you start pedalling with the feet on top of the shoes and after gaining some speed you wear them one at a time.

Note: this procedure requires a very good bike handling and shall not be performed for the first time on your first competition.

Nutrition

A special attention must be given to the nutrition aspect of the transition area.

For Half Ironman, Olympic and Sprint distances I like to stuff my bike with the exact amount of calories and drinks plus a small reserve. The design and the accessories of the bike will dictate the amount and the location of the fuel that you can carry. I don't put anything on the floor because I could forget about it.

Anyway you must be aware on what the organizers are providing just in case you drop something.

Sequencing

Sequencing your actions is the critical part to make time without fainting in transition. Some people find a good technique seating and recovering a little breath.

This is what I do.

You start the swim with cap and goggles (just one pair that is working fine will be ok!).

Out of the water I run to my picnic cloth still wearing googles and cap (I want my hands free), wear the helmet and bib belt, pick up the bike and go.

Coming back from the bike I remove the feet from the shoes 100 mt from the dismount line and enter the transition area barefoot.

For Sprint distances I go no socks, for Olympic ones it depends on the status of my feet.

Half and Full Ironman distances definitely socks in the bike bag for the ride and in the shoes for the run.

Sometimes you get there and you find your bike from far away, but some other times you have to be very focused to find it.

Remember your reference landmarks.

Setting up the transition area is a fun part of pre race. Spend some time there before the race start. Those moments won’t be wasted.

Workouts

Best time in transition without forgetting anything, comes with good practice during training not only in the competition phase, but throughout the entire training progression.

In the base and build phase your coach will prescribe a brick run just after a long ride. This is a good moment to review the above content and practice minimizing time from when you stop on the bike to when you start the run. You are now training on the physiology.

Approaching the racing season your workouts will be much more focused on multiple bricks, run to bike to run, where the main theme will be timing maximization under pressure.

I like this workouts to be done in group of few athletes.

At this link you will find two workouts which I have used as an athlete and I use now for my athletes.
Let me know what you think in the comments!
1% better every day