The Tri Town Times: 11/19/18

Posted on 19 November 2018
By Antonio Gonzalez
Posted in the tri town times
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Eneko Llanos wins Arizona; Food and Diet advice; Chrissie Wellington on body image; bicycle weight vs aerodynamics

Hi all,

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Weekend Race Report-

- Eneko Llanos of Spain and Heather Jackson of the US won Ironman Arizona yesterday under perfect weather conditions. A strong group of locals made the trip, with many hitting PR's and 5 athletes taking top 10 in their respective age groups. Congrats to all!

- Kevin Collington and Imogen Simmonds won 70.3 Xiamen in China on Saturday, while local pros Kate Bevilaqua and Guy Crawford both took 5th in the pro field.

Events We're Looking Forward To-

Sold-out 70.3 Indian Wells is December 9th and keeping quite a few athletes training through the winter.

Training Thoughts and Updates-

With the typical Thanksgiving 'food coma' just around the corner, I thought a bit of information on nutrition and diet would be timely:

- A good refresher on diet for endurance athletes with Matt Fitzgerald. Matt takes a practical and realistic approach to diet that most athletes can identify with (duration: 52min)

- YML Sport Science is one of my favorite sources for up to date training, recovery, and dietary recommendations backed by research. Here are 3 recent studies related to nutrition and supplementation:

-- Low Card, High Fat (LCHF) diets have created a buzz for some time as a way to lose weight. But LCHF diets do not work for everyone, and in many cases can impede your endurance performance. Do you know which professional triathlete is highlighted in this paper (answer at the bottom of this newsletter).

-- I tell my athletes that caffeine is possibly the best *legal* performance enhancing drug out there. A recent study highlights the benefits of caffeine and/or coffee in time trialing performance.

-- A key to building great fitness is to avoid illness, and a big part of that is fueling well and at the right time. Here are some guidelines for carbohydrate, protein, and supplementation intake and timing.

- And finally thoughts on weight loss, body image, and performance from the great Chrissie Wellington.

Shop Ops-

The shop is closed on Thanksgiving, but open normal business hours on Friday and Saturday.

Quote that Struck a Chord-

I love this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson as a reminder to be grateful for even the bad things that happen to us, as the bad things can influence who you become as much as the good:

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

If you have a few moments to spare-

Most triathletes understand the benefits of aerodynamic equipment and the importance of staying aero as much as possible while racing. But many triathletes mistakenly believe that the extra weight is a significant penalty on hilly courses. Remember, "aero is always on", even when climbing a hill. Many of the best triathlon bikes on the market, like the Cervelo P5x, weight 25+ lbs, but that weight penalty is more than balanced out by the aero benefits while on the flats, descents, and rolling terrain. If you're interested in diving deeper into the physics of cycling speed (especially when it comes to weight and aerodynamics), I recommend the short and fascinating book "Faster: Demystifying the Science of Triathlon Speed" by Jim Gourley.

Have a great week!

Antonio G

Tri Town

*The professional triathlete highlighted in the paper is Eneko Llanos- winner of yesterday's Ironman Arizona. He's 40+ years old, a vegetarian, and still racing strong.

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