Don’t forget that there are coached swim workouts (well sort of coached, if it counts that the coach is in the water) at the Butler Rd. YMCA in the Burg.

Mondays at 6am.

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Does anyone  have a wetsuit (long sleeve) that will fit a woman who is 5’2” tall?

I have a friend who is doing B2B, she’s from Florida, and she doesn’t have a long sleeve wetsuit as most of her races are either sleeveless or no suit.

We’d only need it for the race, and would gladly ‘rent’ it.

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Group Long Run – All PACES welcome – post workout breakfast at University Café

3+ hour run – 7:00 am

2.5 hour group – 7:45 am

UMW on Hanover Street on Sunday Morning.

There may be an earlier group going, but Ruth is in charge of that group (so Ruth, reply to all to let us know your plans).

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Free CrossFit workout today at 2 PM!

If you need directions go to:  www.rarecrossfit.com

See you there!

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

For Tri-Fred and Fredericksburg Area Running club members on Saturday, October 15 and 24 at 2pm.

Location:  http://rarecrossfit.typepad.com/fitness/location.html

For those trying to get faster, stay injury free so you can run, or just looking for a new way to train and have fun at the same time…..I highly recommend checking this out.

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

J  You coming on Wed?  I have a workout group at 9:15 as well at UMW if you want to get your workout done earlier.

D.

It’s my off season – but I’m still riding.

Tuesday – from Battlefield Park off of Landsdowne Road at 10 am – 90 min ride, then short brick run on trails for giggles.

Thursday – from Bloom at 10am, 2 hours (no run).

If interested (or also have friends interested) please pass on.  Also, let me know if you plan on showing up so I know whether to wait or not.

Thanks!

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Yes there are races going on, but several still have to run long, right?

Group run at UMW Athletic Fields on Hanover Street at 6am on Sunday – 2 hours + group

Good luck at Braswell 5k everyone!

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Good read:

By Matt Fitzgerald
Triathlete magazine

In 2006, I flew to Penticton, British Columbia, to watch a couple of the athletes I coach compete in Ironman Canada. One of them had a day to remember; the other had a day to forget.

The latter, Paul, was doing fine through the end of the bike leg. He arrived at T2 right on his goal pace. But things fell apart quickly on the run. Almost immediately his stomach began to feel bloated and sloshy. His legs grew heavy and seemed starved for energy, and soon he was even experiencing some lightheadedness. By the 5K mark of the marathon he was walking.

This scenario—which I call the bike-run bonk—is common in long-distance triathlons. The athlete feels good or at least OK on the bike, only to suffer a gastrointestinal meltdown early in the run. Fortunately, as common as the bike-run bonk is, it is completely avoidable.

Knowing is Half the Battle

The key to avoiding the bike-run bonk is understanding exactly what it is. The bike-run bonk is a simple case of over-nourishment with a twist. The twist is that the stomach is able to tolerate a greater volume and concentration of nutrition, and is also able to empty more quickly, when an athlete is bicycling than when that same athlete is running. So what qualifies as optimal nourishment during the bike leg of a triathlon suddenly becomes over-nourishment on the run.

The essential difference between cycling and running with respect to nutrition is the far greater amount of stomach jostling that occurs on the run. This jostling is the likely cause of the unpleasant sloshy feeling that often becomes full-blown nausea if the stomach volume is too great.

Stomach jostling probably also contributes to a reduced gastric emptying rate (i.e. slower absorption of nutrition through the stomach and intestine) during running as compared to cycling. The result is a nutrition backlog in the stomach, small intestine and possibly the colon that's not unlike the damming of a river and subsequent flooding of riverfront properties.

Such a backlog and the resulting accumulation of fluid in places it should not be (e.g. the colon) is also a cause of that terrible bloated feeling.

Stocking up on nutrition before the run is a recipe for disaster.

If that wasn't bad enough, when your pipes get stopped up in this manner a secondary problem results: inadequate supply of fluid and energy to your blood and muscles, which can quickly result in a classic energy bonk. Isn't that ironic?

You crammed all that nutrition down your throat on the bike to prevent dehydration and glycogen depletion and it winds up causing these very things—in addition to gastrointestinal distress.

A Few Ounces of Prevention

A key cause of the bike-run bonk, then, is taking in too much nutrition (and perhaps too high a concentration of nutrition) during the latter portion of the bike leg. It's not too much with respect to the latter portion of the bike leg itself, but it becomes too much in the early portion of the run leg.

The way to avoid the bike-run bonk is to fuel yourself during the final 30 minutes of the bike leg in a way that anticipates the reduced capacities of your stomach on the run. Here are four specific tips to help you avoid the bike-run bonk.

1. Go Light

Throughout the majority of the bike leg, take full advantage of the opportunity to take in fluid and energy at a high rate. A typical cyclist can absorb 1.2 to 1.5 liters of fluid and 80 to 100 grams of carbohydrate per hour at race intensity. You can also tolerate a fairly full stomach on the bike, and it's a good idea to keep your stomach as full as you comfortably can by taking in nutrition frequently, because the fuller your stomach is, the faster it empties.

But with around 30 minutes remaining in the bike leg you must sharply reduce your rate of nutrition intake and allow your stomach volume to come down to a level that is manageable for the run. I recommend taking an energy gel with water or a few swigs of a sports drink with 30 minutes to go and another drink with 15 minutes to go, and that's all. If it's hot, drink at 30 minutes, 20 minutes and 10 minutes.

This advice is precisely the opposite of what I hear many coaches and triathletes preaching. They encourage long-distance triathletes to stock up on nutrition toward the end of the bike leg for the same reason I'm telling you to cut back—because it's impossible to consume nutrition at as high a rate on the run.

Active.com > Triathlon > 4 Ways to Avoid the Bike-Run Bonk

What these coaches and triathletes are missing is that not only can you not consume as much nutrition on the run, but you also cannot tolerate as much in your stomach or absorb it as quickly, so stocking up on nutrition before the run is a recipe for disaster.

In fact, one of the reasons the bike-run bonk is so common is that this advice is so frequently given, and followed.

2. Stay Liquid

Fluids are absorbed into the bloodstream more quickly than solid foods. Therefore I recommend you get as much of your nutrition as possible from fluids (where energy gels taken with water count as fluids) throughout the bike leg. This will not only minimize your chances of getting blocked up after the bike-run transition, but it will also maximize the rate of nutrient delivery to your blood and muscles throughout the bike leg itself.

You may swallow more calories if you chow down on a lot of energy bars during a triathlon, but you will absorb more calories if you avoid solids and stick to liquids, because they are absorbed more quickly.

3. Choose Fast-Absorbing Nutrition

Not all fluids are equal when it comes to absorption and retention. By consuming fluids that are absorbed more quickly and retained more effectively, you can actually get better hydration and faster energy delivery from less fluid. This will help you go light during the final 30 minutes of the bike leg, and throughout the run, with less risk of experiencing severe dehydration or glycogen depletion.

Two nutrients, sodium and protein, help you get more hydration per ounce of fluid consumed, while caffeine helps you absorb carbohydrate faster. Ounce for ounce, sports drinks with higher sodium concentrations provide better hydration, because they accelerate gastric emptying and improve fluid balance in the body. For this reason, use a sports drink that contains at least 15 mg of sodium per ounce.

Protein appears to enhance both fluid absorption and fluid retention. In a recent Spanish study, a carb-protein sports drink was found to empty from the stomach significantly faster than a carb-only sports drink in cyclists pedaling at 70 percent of VO2 max. And in a new study from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, a carb-protein sports drink was retained in athletes 15 percent better than a carb-only sports drink (meaning 15 percent less of it wound up in the bladder).

Finally, the results of a new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology suggest that caffeine may enhance the effectiveness of sports drinks consumed during exercise by accelerating the absorption of carbohydrate in the intestine.

So it's a good idea to use an energy gel with caffeine or to supplement your sports drink with caffeine from another source, especially in light of the fact that caffeine is also proven to enhance endurance performance and reduce perceived effort.

4. Practice

There's an easy way and a hard way to discover your personal fueling limitations. The hard way to find them is by experiencing the bike-run bonk in a long-distance race. The easy way is to do some long, race-pace brick workouts in training. In preparing for a half-Ironman, build up to at least a two-hour ride followed by a one-hour run. In preparing for a full Ironman, build up to at least a four-hour ride followed by a one-hour run.

During these workouts, fuel yourself at the maximum comfortable rate until 30 minutes remain in your ride, then go light and observe your body's response during the run. If you experience gastrointestinal distress, you know you need to go even lighter.

If you experience no GI symptoms but suffer an energy bonk, try taking in a little more nutrition next time, but don't count on being able to get away with it. You may actually have to reduce your pace to avoid both the bike-run bonk and the energy bonk.

Too Much Is no Better Than too Little

Triathletes are often panicked about getting in enough nutrition in these events, but it's actually quite easy to consume fluid and calories at the maximum rate your body can absorb them. And on the run, it's all too easy to exceed your limits, because they are so much lower than on the bike.

Make every effort to stay on the safe side of your limits, and don't fret about not getting enough nutrition. Although it may seem paradoxical, by focusing more on emptying your stomach than on filling it, you will have a better chance of avoiding both Paul's fate and the classic energy bonk in your next long-distance race.

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Start to bring some toys – fins and paddles if you have them.

Remember – swim workouts at YMCA on Butler Road on Mondays and Fridays at 6am.

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Sunday morning – 7:00 am at UMW on Hanover Street.

All paces please come!

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Jennie,

First off – why can’t you do freestyle?  How does the titanium plate affect what you do in the water?

Wetsuits – best place to go is online.  Get last year’s model (or even this year’s model on the cheap maybe, not sure if the new models are out yet) for less, and you can go to google to find the best price.  You have 2XU, Xterra, Blue Seventy, just to name a few.  If you want to try one on you will have two options:  Three Sports in Richmond, or Bonzai in Falls Church. 

All wetsuits are great quality from the above vendors, and don’t worry  you’re not going to want to dump them.   I’m still wearing my Xterre sleeveless that I bought 9 years ago.

I have a pair of shorts you can have.  I like the design of them, but I don’t like wearing them for races.  Just my personal preference.

Debi

I’m interested in shorts if you are making a list. J

Caren

Group run tomorrow morning starting at 6am – several are running 3 hours.

UMW Athletic Fields on Hanover Street.

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

At the Butler Road YMCA will be held on Monday (Labor Day, in case the subject header went past you) at 7:00 AM.

Also  - don’t forget the Friday morning workouts there as well at 6:00 am.

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

YMCA is closed on Labor Day.

Group swim workout for swimming will be held on Tuesday instead – 6am

This is what we did today:

A group:

3 x 300 (100 swim, 100 shark fin kick, 100 drill)

2 x (400 free, 200 IM, 300 free, 100 IM, 200 free, 100 IM)

200 easy

B group:

2 x 300 (same as above)

2 x (300 free, 150 drill/swim by 25’s, 200 free, 100 drill/free by 25’s, 100 free, 100 drill/free by 25’s)

200 easy

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Monday swim workouts at the Butler Road YMCA in the Burg – 6 am.  Then there will be a group on Friday’s at same time.  Workouts are provided.

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

OK all you running fans – we’ve finished with our hills/fartlek stuff (sort of, well, at least the hills).

Back to the track – 5:30 PM on Wed nights.

James Monroe High School

Drop in fee for all non-UCanDoIt athletes is 5 bucks.

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484

Sometimes I go into these races where more is on the line with my head in a fog.  I’m there, but not quite all there (at least more than normal).  I’m happy to be there, ready to go, and I just sort of wonder around like a zombie.  In other words I avoid and keep most of my emotions at bay.  I know that getting nervous just wastes energy, and by staying relaxed I generally end up doing pretty well.

This race was no different.  Well, it was because out of all the women in my age group all but two athletes in the top 10 from last year’s rankings were there (and then there were the top 45-49 who aged up this year as well).  I knew that I had to stick to my plan if I was to make it in the top ten, and that my goal of top 5 was going to be a tough one to crack.

I highly recommend this race before I go any further.  USAT did a bang up job, and I couldn’t ask for more when it came to support, logistics, and the course.  It was all a challenge, but not so much that you never wanted to do it again.

Now on to the race.

Swim is in the Black Warrior River.  Race officials had been told that they wouldn’t open up the dam that morning in respect for the event.  Unfortunately they didn’t ask Mother Nature if this would be o.k. as on Thursday some huge storms rolled in the area, and it continued to rain off and on up through Friday evening.  Which as you know causes more water behind the dam, which means that there comes a point in time where the ‘dam’ workers felt that they HAD to open everything up.  Probably about an hour before we got in the water.

The older age groups (55+ over) went off first, and watching them in the warm up and seeing most of them go almost nowhere was an eye-opener.  Some of these folks aren’t the swiftest swimmers, and I knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy day for them.  Especially since a majority of the course was going to be going against the flow.  Approximately 1000 meters of the course.

Gun goes off, and right from the start I’m in the lead (wahoo).  Kind of reminded me of my good old days at Drake University when I ran the 800 on the track.  Where the first 400 meters I would be leading thinking that the world was awesome, I felt so good, I was cruising, and then around the 600 meter mark the huge gorilla would jump on my back and then everyone would pass me.

Well….it wasn’t that bad.  But once we made the first turn buoy I was finally overtaken (probably by Laura Sophea – she’s a beast).  Then we hit the force of the river as you had to make sure you swam upstream to make sure you didn’t go downstream.    At this point I knew that I had to back off a bit and conserve energy.  It was going to be a long swim, and I resigned myself to it right away.  Some things you can control and others you have no control over.

I then spent the next 25 minutes trying to make sure I stayed as close to the shore (to avoid the current) and paid attention to my stroke.  It went like this.

Take about 20 strokes, sight, take 20 strokes, sight, take 40 strokes (by this time I was straight for once), and sight.  There came a time where I started to pass all the waves before me, and figured they were doing most of the sighting for me, so I just put my head down and said ‘keep on swimming’ over and over while trying to make sure I was maximizing each pull.  There were swimmers in the middle of the river, some to my left (not many), and generally this swim was a no-contact event.  Every once and awhile I would get close to someone, but nothing dramatic for all parties concerned.

I would look up and see the yellow turn bouy, and then about 150 strokes later lift my head again only to find out that it wasn’t any closer. 

Well…finally made it, hung a right, and we flew into the finish line from there (although again you had to make sure you swam slightly upstream to avoid going downstream). 

36:40 – longest dam 1500 I’ve ever swum.

Bike course – two lap affair with some hills, but in general they were nothing that difficult, and didn’t really have to ever leave the saddle to get up over them.  I spent the first lap keeping control over the watts (under 200, but over 180), and then when I started the second lap I felt really good so I picked it up a notch.  Nothing really dramatic – got passed by Donna Smyers, and another woman on the bike in my AG, but overall they didn’t finish that far in front of me.

Bike time:  1:10.03

Run – this is how this played out…..nice and flat, take a left turn and think CHARLOTTESVILLE Martha Jefferson 8k at mile 3+….the kind of hill you know you have to run up but would much rather walk.  Seriously. 

They take you up the hill which lasts about 3+ blocks, then you turn around and come back down.

Now repeat that two more times and you have the course.  The last 2 miles were rolling/flat, and I hammered it there.  I passed one of the women who passed me on the bike, but the rest were too far ahead for me to make too much of a dent on, but then I just spent time picking off all the older guys.

Run time – 42:40 – fastest run split in the age group! 

Overall time – 2:32 (if not for the swim this probably would have been a PR course for me), 7^th in AG, earned a slot to worlds in Budapest in 2010, but didn’t take it as I’m really not keen on racing in Hungary.

Debi

Debi Bernardes

USAT Level 2 Coach

USAC Level 3 Coach

8385 Tomahawk Drive

King George, VA 22485

(540) 709-1484