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Tuesday, 29 June 2010

Speedendurance.com

9 Mistakes Sprinters Make Before the Championship Meet

Posted: 28 Jun 2010 09:00 AM PDT

You've trained for 46 weeks 5 or 6 days a week. You've done your 7-10 day taper. You are injury free and ready to rock and roll.

Yet sometimes we all make mistakes prior to the big meet. It doesn't matter if it's a Provincial meet or the Olympics. Your big meet is your big meet.

NOW is not the time to try new things.

But life is not perfect and stuff happens. Here is a quick list from experience, both from myself and other athletes.

Changing your start – after 8 years of practicing blocks, why would you change anything at the last minute? Especially the 100m or 110m hurdles where it's 8 steps to the first hurdle. Inches (or centimeters) matter or else you will crash.

Practicing starts the night before – I've heard stories of athletes totally wired for their race, that they were practicing starts in their hotel room (using a mattress for a crash pad) the night before the big meet. This will trash your CNS the next day. Plus, your hotel neighbors will wonder what's going on.

Changing your gear – you should never wear new shoes or spikes, unless you forgot or lost your pair, and you are forced to use new spikes. Yes, I know Tim Montgomery wore Marion Jones spikes in this 9.78 WR, but we know the whole story now.
Same goes with bodysuits. Always test your new bodysuit at the hotel and bring a spare to the track, as they are known to rip if too small or tight. (Remember the Women's Bobsled "wardrobe malfunction" video on YouTube that went viral?) You would think this is obvious, but I can recall this happened to a world class 400m sprinter (who wishes to remain anonymous for obvious reasons!)

Changing your diet, especially on the road – try to eat the same way you do all year. It may be tough with travel, and you might think pasta the night before will be healthy, but watch out, it may make you feel bloated.
Anyone who has travelled with me knows my pre-race superstition meal (for night meets): a Club Sandwich (preferably no fries and unbuttered whole wheat bread)

Not enough warm up, warm up too soon or warming up too late – I always advise starting 30 minutes earlier in big meets because you have extra check-in times, marshalling, sitting around in the control area, stadium PA speakers announcing the field, etc.
When you do 2000 meters of tempo 3 days a week, your body has a good cardiovascular system right down to the capillaries. Staying warm will be easier because your system is more efficient. I'm not promoting 100 miles weeks like Arthur Lydiard. Just good old fashion low intensity volume.

Changing practice times – this is tough especially when travelling and access to the practice tracks. Something can be said about biorhythms or HRV (heart rate variability) about the time of day that is best for you. Track finals at big meets are always at night. So try to find a practice time that is close to what you are used to.

Shopping, sightseeing or laying in the sun on the European tour – sightseeing and shopping is the worse thing you can do being on your feet all day in the hot sunshine. First year newbies on the European circuit always fall into this trap. Seasoned professionals read novels in their hotel room.
When I was at the Rome Sheraton, several athletes were in the lobby on their laptops and netbooks. Others, such as Dayron Robles were just sitting and chatting inside for hours. Of course, he had the odd interruption of asking for his photo to be taken.

Sleeping in – since you can't shop or sightsee, I can see sleeping in as the only thing to do. Again, this may be a bad thing if it leaves you too groggy.

Too much energy drinks – Let me reiterate, NOW is NOT the time to double up extra energy drinks like Red Bull, Vitalyze, or 5-hour shots. Even at Starbucks where you can get an extra espresso shot added to your 20oz venti size drip coffee, this may be a bad thing. Better be close to the bathroom, and bring toilet paper, as mama used to say.

Those are my nine. Can you add a few more?

Monday, 28 June 2010

About Today: 20 Cheap Ways to Stay Cool

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Today

From Jen Hubley, your About Today Editor

It's rather warm in my neck of the woods these days. How warm? Well, it's 10 AM and my makeup is lying in a pool on my shirt front. Also, I just checked the weather and the 10-day forecast said, "Just stay inside. Trust us."

20 Cheap Ways to Stay Cool

The trouble is, being comfortable indoors seems to mean air conditioning all holy heck out of your living space, which is expensive and wasteful, etc. So what's a thrifty, energy conscious person to do?

Recipes to Cool You off

I'm a big believer in cooling myself off from the outside in. After looking through these recipes, I've decided that I need about a gallon of chilled cucumber soup, and then I'll be fine.

How to Keep Cool in the Summer Without Air Conditioning

If you're smart about it, you can skip the AC altogether and still stay cool.

More Ways to Keep Cool Without AC Tips for Energy-Efficient Summer Cooling

7 Types of Air Cooling Appliances

My favorite? The swamp cooler. I long to live in a climate where a swamp cooler is a viable option, if only because it has the neatest name of any appliance ever.

Today Ads

About Teen Fashion: Look for Less: Alexander McQueen Booties

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Hooray T-Shirt Day!

Last night I went to an event hosted by CafePress in honor of T-Shirt Day. Revelers packed Sweet & Vicious in lower Manhattan while party goers got tees customized by... Read more

Minnie Mouse + Forever 21

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Speedendurance.com

The Quest For The Perfect Shake… and Snack?

Posted: 27 Jun 2010 09:00 AM PDT

How much protein do athletes need?
What's the best protein?
When should protein be consumed around training for optimal results?

>> Click here for the Ultimate Book on Protein Intake for all Strength, Power and Endurance Athletes

Ever since my trip to Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Mike Durand introduced me (and my team) to Muscle Milk. We had just finished our workouts in the glorious sunshine of southern California and he provided us with the RTD (ready to drink) cold versions of Muscle Milk. Ever drink a warm protein shake?

I am sure Cytosport sponsored the school, but that's besides the point.

Protein powder isn't just for shakes anymore.

You can add it pancake mix or homemade granola bars or other recipes.

But this one suggestion was unique, I had to share it with you.

What to do with Muscle Milk powder?

You can read the full article here as he gets into the boring details of choosing a blender.

Basically you need the following items and a very good blender.

Muscle Milk – Vanilla – 2 scoops
Frozen Blueberries – 4 cups
Unsweetened Almond Milk – Vanilla – 1 cup

I am sure you can replace Muscle Milk with your favorite vanilla protein powder, too.

The end result?

… ICE CREAM?

WTF? Ice cream?

The total calories and carbohydrate-protein-fat ratios are:

660 kcal
16 g fat (6 g saturated)
96 g carbohydrate (33g fiber, 48g sugar)
37 g protein

The post recovery drink or meal should have anywhere from 1:1 to 4:1 ratio in carbs:protein ratio. A good read is Lyle McDonald's article titled What is the Best Protein Recovery Drink for Sprinters?

That's a 65-25-10 ratio in carbs, protein fat. Not bad for a post recovery snack on a hot summer day. And summer time is here (at least in this part of the world, though gelato is everywhere). If the above recipe serves two people, then 330 kcal is perfectly reasonable as a snack.

I advocated an overall 60-15-25 ratio from natural wholesome foods way back in June 2007 as one of my first posts. However, one meal at a restaurant or (heaven forbid) a fast food restaurant and your fat (AND sugar AND sodium) ratios shoot up.

Bonus eBooks from Precision Nutrition

The above recipe comes from John Berardi's Precision Nutrition.

>> Click here to download the Precision Nutrition Strategies For Success. This ebook provides a nice and simple overview of some critical Precision Nutrition strategies including: the rules of good nutrition, protein intake, balancing dietary acids, altering your eating schedule to make it more Precision Nutrition friendly, preparing foods, eating on the road, revving your metabolism, and more.

>> Click here to download the Gourmet Nutrition Desserts. A 44 page dessert cookbook complete with delicious "Precision Nutrition approved" dessert recipes, beautiful photography, and hints on how to eat the foods you love without the gaining the fat you hate.