Another triathlon season is here!

New and experienced triathletes are invited to a Welcome/Introduction meeting on Wednesday April 27th from 6:30 to 7:30pm at the HB Studios Sport Centre conference room.

We’ll update you on the membership benefits for 2011 and our plans — including a number of new things — for the Fancy Lake practice.

And if you’ve heard about our new program called ‘My First Triathlon’ — you’ll want to come out and here what its about.  Very exciting!

After a brief talk, there will be a question and answer session plus an opportunity to talk with various members of the club.

****Make sure you enter your name for the door prize — COMPRESSION SOCKS courtesy of Bridgewater Pharmasave

The Bridgewater Triathlon Club held their annual spring tri-camp on Saturday April 16th at various locations around Lunenburg.

Under the careful guidance of Coach Colin, we swam, ran and biked followed by a most delicious supper at Scuttlebutt.  Many thanks to Jen for her support.

Congratulations to all the participants … by all measures you’re heading into a good season!

ABOUT TRI-CAMP

This is the fourth year for a spring tri-camp by the Bridgewater Triathlon Club.  Open to all members, its an opportunity to see how your training is coming together as we head into the race season.

Level I is in the morning and is suitable for anyone that is a race marshal.  Level II is in the afternoon and builds on what was learned in the morning session.  Level II is a requirement for any race organizers.

Schedule:

• 8:30 am – Start Level I clinic
• 9:45 am – refreshment break
• 10:00-12:00 – Level I clinic
• 12:00-1:00pm – Lunch
• 1:00 pm – Start Level II clinic
• 2:15 pm – refreshment break
• 2:30 pm – 4:00pm – Level II clinic

If you have any questions or would like to register, please contact bridgewatertriclub@gmail.com

From 1-2pm, Jason Lomond from Peak Performance Therapy is going to talk and demo how to prevent and deal with running injuries.  Jason’s presentation is open to all and there is no charge.  More about Jason here.

There will be a short break after Jason finishes and then from 2-3pm, we’ll conduct the AGM which will include:

• a summary of 2010
• financials
• plans for 2011
• election

Over the next couple of weeks, many of the agenda items will be posted on the BTC’s YAHOO email list for your review and comment.  Participants will also have an opportunity to comment at the AGM.

***UPDATE*** - we’re going ahead at 1pm at the Riverport School and you can register at the school on Saturday Sep 11th.

Is this your year to tackle a duathlon???  The Bridgewater Triathlon Club will be hosting the 5th Annual Riverport Duathlon on Sunday October 3rd and this introductory session will take you through the steps of a run – bike – run event with details of what’s required to successfully complete your first duathlon.  Appropriate for all fitness levels, ages 12 and up.

• LOCATION: Riverport Elementary School
• DATE: Saturday September 11, 2010
• TIME: 1pm – 3pm
• EQUIPMENT: running shoes, bike, helmet
• COST:  $5
• REGISTER: contact the Municipality of Lunenburg Recreation Dept. – 541-1343
• QUESTIONS: contact the Bridgewater Triathlon Club at bridgewatertriclub@gmail.com

Recovery nutrition includes refueling muscles and liver with stored carbohydrates (glycogen), rehydrating and restoring electrolyte balance, making new muscle protein and boosting the immune system to be able to handle the stresses of training.

The Recovery Window

There is substantial evidence that supports eating a recovery snack within the first 15-30 minutes after training to enhance muscle glycogen recovery.  This is frequently referred to as the “window of opportunity” for refuelling.  The amount of carbohydrate recommended is between 1-1.5g/kg body weight.  For example, a 140lb (64kg) athlete should aim for 60-90g of carbohydrate which could come from a smoothie with a large banana, 1 cup of plain yogurt and 1 cup of orange juice.  These snacks or meals should be repeated every 2 hours until normal meal patterns resume as part of your overall food intake.  Taking in this quantity of carbohydrates and calories within the immediate window may not be necessary if the duration of activity was short, low-intensity or skill based and thus doesn’t lead to a high expenditure of energy and carbohydrate depletion.  For example, for a triathlete, an easy 5km recovery run may not require aggressive recovery nutrition.

Sufficient carbohydrate intake after exercise may also help enhance the immune system.  Intense training may suppress the immune system, which can place athletes at higher risk for illness and infection.  Having adequate carbohydrate intake before, during and after training is thought to promote a healthy immune system by reducing stress hormone responses to exercise and supplying glucose to white blood cells.

Muscle Repair and Building

Athlete training is a cycle of muscle breakdown followed by repair.  Muscle breakdown occurs during the training when muscle tissue and is damaged.  Muscle repair occurs during the recovery phase which is highlighted by the increase in the anabolic (building) processes.  This cycle can occur in both strength and endurance training.  Consuming amino acids in the form of protein-rich foods in the recovery period can enhance muscle protein rebuilding.  Athletes should consume 10g to 20g of high quality protein within the first hour after exercise.  This should be combined with carbohydrate not only for the reasons mentioned previously, but also to stimulate insulin secretion which can help enhance the rebuilding process further.  While many athletes feel protein is the most important part of recovery nutrition, it is relatively small compared to carbohydrate needs.  While supplements can be used, obtaining 10 to 20g of protein from food is simple and likely to provide greater overall nutrition.

Recovery Snack Examples

• Smoothie:  1 cup fruit juice, 1 cup plain yogurt and 1 large banana = 74g carbs, 16g protein
• 2 cups chocolate milk (or fortified soy beverage) 8and a large banana = 84g carbs, 18g protein
• Sandwich:  2 slices whole-grain bread, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp jam = 51g carbs, 10g protein
• Trail mix: ½ cup raisins, ¼ cup dry-roasted soy nuts, 1 cup Cheerios = 65g carbs, 13g protein
• Smoothie:  1 cup vanilla soy beverage, 1 cup each blueberries and mango (frozen) = 62g carbs, 10g protein

Rehydration

Maintaining optimal hydration when training at high volume or high intensity can be a challenge for many athletes. Using a scale can be helpful to determine pre and post-training weights and ensure adequate fluid is consumed to rehydrate.  For every 1 pound weight loss during training, the athlete should consume 3 cups of fluid (for every 1kg loss this translates to 1.5L).  Athletes should avoid losing more than 2% of their body weight in training by consuming adequate fluids.

Water alone will not suffice to replace lost electrolytes and rehydrate the body properly.  The major electrolyte lost in sweat is sodium and athletes should take this into consideration when planning recovery hydration, particularly if they sweat heavily or know themselves to be salty sweaters. 

Sodium concentration in sweat varies widely between individuals but can be clinically measured by laboratory testing or through practical evaluations such as looking for white streaks on dark clothing or salt lines on the skin after training. For every 1kg body weight loss, the sodium losses can range from as little as 300mg to 3500mg, which for someone at the top end of the range could present a major deficit. 

Sodium can be replaced by beverages such as vegetable juice, milk and sports drinks.  It can also be replaced by consuming a high-sodium food, such as cottage cheese, or canned fish as part of the recovery snack.  With concern over sodium excess in the general population, it’s important for athletes to realize they may not need to be on a low sodium diet, but rather may need to add salt to their recovery nutrition. Not replacing sodium will affect the body’s ability to retain fluids consumed in the post-exercise period and can result in high urine output.  Muscle cramping can also be attributed to dehydration and/or sodium depletion.  Although cramps are not well understood, for some athletes salt deficit is a component of this problem.  Sodium will also promote thirst and help the athletes be able to take in enough liquid to replace sweat losses.

References:

1. Hartman JW, Tang JE, Wilkinson SB, Tarnopolsky MA, Lawrence RL, Fullerton AV, Phillips SM. Consumption of fluid skim milk promotes greater muscle protein accretion after resistance exercise than does consumption of an isonitrogenous and isoenergetic soy-protein beverage. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Aug;86(2):373-81.
2. Lemon PW, Berardi JM, Noreen EE. The role of protein and amino acid supplements in the athlete’s diet: does type or timing of ingestion matter? Curr Sports Med Rep. 2002 Aug;1(4):214-21.
3. Australian Institute of Sport. Recovery Nutrition, 2009. www.ausport.gov.au. Retrieved June 22, 2010.

The above article was used with permission.

Alexis Williams, B.A.Sc., M.A.N., RD
IOC Diploma in Sports Nutrition
Transition Health
378 Plains Rd. E.
Burlington, ON   L7T 0A4
905-483-0216
www.transitionhealth.ca
alexis@transitionhealth.ca

On Wednesday July 26th, Cliff Worden-Rogers (above left) and Mark Campbell (above right) made two presentations to members of the BTC and friends:

• Cliff’s presentation dealt with nutrition for athletes shooting for peak performance
• Mark spoke about his experience during his solo run around the Cabot Trail

In the picture above, Cliff is presenting Mark a donation on behalf of the Bridgewater Triathlon Club for the Brigadoon Children’s Camp, the charity that Mark supports through his efforts.

We’d also like to thank Karen Weagle from the Bridgewater Pharmasave for the Sigvaris athletic compression socks used for the door prize.

Cliff Worden-Rogers writes … for the past 5 years, I’ve been competing as a multi-sport athlete (running, triathlon and cross-country). This required countless hours of training and enormous amounts of calories! From this experience, I realized that having a “healthy” diet was important to my success. On July 28th, I would like to share some of the secrets that I have found.

Included in this presentation is:

• what to eat for an early morning workout
• what are the right foods to consume during and after a workout
• which foods to avoid

On this night, a special guest will also join me, local long distance champion Mark Campbell. His recent accomplishment was tackling the entire 300km Cabot Trail Relay by himself! He will be showing his video from his adventure.

Open to all.

When: Wednesday July 28, 2010

Time: 6:30 – 8pm

Where: Bridgewater Superstore Classroom

Cost: $5 to cover expenses, all proceeds to to Brigadoon Children’s Camp

Singles, Doubles, Triples

This has been my life of late.  Bouncing from one workout to the next.  I’ve learned some really interesting things about my body and training long in general:

1. My body hates to run at the end of the day.  It’s not so much the mileage or the wear on my legs but after consuming 3500+ calories a day, it feels like a garbage compactor pressing out a cube of my my previous 2 days worth of food. 
2. Recovery swims are awesome.  Feel like crap?  Hit the water and forget about taking your watch.  Just enjoy the way the water feels as it goes over you. 
3. I need to try this out a little more but having a chocolate protein shake (10-15gms of protein) on a recovery ride can help aid in recovery. 
4. Sometimes the gut just wants crap.  The key is to not have any in the house.  If you do, you will consume all of it.  Trust me.
5. If you think for a second that the life of a pro athlete is easy (and I don’t pretend to be one) try living without your car for a week.  Maybe, and I say maybe because some people do live far from their jobs/local towns, maybe you might cover the same amount of miles by weeks end as a pro athelte.  I doubt it though. 
6. I use to think that pros who win races always feel good.  What I’m learning is the ones that win probably feel the worst but they know how to deal with it the best.  Training day in and day out is HARD.  The body rationalizes and tries to make you stop especially when it gets tough.  Learning to push past it mentally is a very tough lesson.
7. I love when you just make it indoors after a ride and it rains. 
8. The feeling of completing a week and being able to put your feet up (at least for a couple of hours!).
9. Being able to sit on the trainer inside on a sunny day and enjoy it!
10. Not knowing if your body is going to respond well to all the traininig; this is probably the toughest part.

Overall I’m still optimistic.  I wish sometimes I could turn my brain off and just veg for awhile.  What I’m learning though above all is that training for any sport is just one big science experiment.  Although most other people don’t see it that way.

BTC member Cliff Worden-Rogers originally published this piece on Livemultisport and it is reprinted with permission.

Trips’ = What I call triple workout days. So I had back to back trips’ concluding today. Lots of swim, bike and run. My focus was on getting my nutrition down. What I learned from doing these is all day your body is burning fuel, either in repairing itself or making you go!

Here are some of the keys:

• Breakfast – If you ate well the day before start with a medium size balanced breakfast, 500 -600 calories.
• Workout
• Post Workout – Start eating! Consume a major quantity of calories say 1000 with the focus on high quality carbohydrates.
• Pre Workout – Something easy to consume, I like toast and peanut butter; about 250 calories.
• Workout
• Post Workout – Again, high carbs and a mixture of protein and fat.
• Nap
• Pre Workout – Whatever you feel like. I chose hummus and a piece of chocolate.  Make sure that you don’t have any hunger cravings before leaving the house.  Going out the door hungry will probably make this workout a waste.
• Workout – Keep up the calories, shooting for 200-300 per hour.
• Post Workout – Fuel up. Spaghetti or a large stir fry.
• Snack – Whatever the body is craving.

Seriously, this was my day x 2. The only thing that was different on the second day was starting with a larger breakfast, as my body woke up a bit hungry. I know what your thinking, how?!

Anywho, tomorrow I get the day off, just a swim in the morning then its back to trips’