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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Q & A: Does it matter when I drink during a long race?

Posted June 8th, 2007 at 7:15 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Nutrition, Hydration, Health & Fitness, Exercise

A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that drinking fluids earlier can improve performance more than taking them later (International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, December 2006).

Seven highly-trained male triathletes, aged 18 to 35 years, were tested during two simulated Olympic-distance triathlons. They took a full glass of water at 8, 16, 24, and 32 kilometers, and this was compared to taking the same drink 2, 4, 6 and 8 kilometers later in the event (at 10, 20, 30, and 40 kilometers).

As you would expect, opening swim times for 1500 meters were similar between trials; as were the second event (40-km cycling) times, but the third event (10-km run) times were faster when the athletes took food and drink earlier. Dehydration does not harm an athlete’s performance until he lacks a large amount of water and his blood volume is depleted significantly. That explains why the athletes’ performance was not harmed until the third event of the three-event competition.
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Podcast 44: Interview with triathlete and coach Luc Morin

Posted April 29th, 2007 at 12:44 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Running & Training, Cross Training, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

As the number of amateur runners interested and emerging in multi-sport events, such as triathlons and even IRONMAN events, continues to increase; The Final Sprint and I have begun receiving a large number of questions from our readers about training for these events, the transition from being a runner, as well as inquiries about professional triathletes.

With that in mind I decided to contact and was delighted to be joined on Episode 44 of The Final Sprint Podcast by Luc Morin; one of Canada’s most dominate triathletes over the last decade and an experienced coach of athletes around the world.

In the interview Luc talks about going from a professional soccer player in Europe to an elite long-distance triathlete, battling back from the injuries he sustained after being hit by a car in 2004, the greatest moments thus far in his career and racing goals for the future.

Download the podcast to hear Luc discuss these topics, as well as, his experience as a coach and consultant for ePerformance (and other companies, such as PowerBar), finding time to both work and train, the transition from athlete to coach, his role models as a young athlete, advice for runners looking to make the transition to multi-sport events (and vice versa), and much more!

Listen In
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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Luc Morin
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 11.5 MB
Length: 00:16:49

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Do triathletes get injured more often than one-sport athletes?

Posted March 12th, 2007 at 12:29 PM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Cross Training, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab

Triathletes are injured only about one third as often as marathon runners even though they do far more work in their program of swimming, cycling and running. Training intelligently for three sports is less likely to injure you than training very hard for one. Training is limited by damage to skeletal muscles.

Every time you exercise, your muscles develop small tears with bleeding. It takes at least 48 hours for muscles to heal from exercise. Each sport stresses a particular group of muscles most. Marathon runners who train every day stress the same muscles and often do not allow adequate time to recover from the previous day’s workout, so they are at increased risk for injury.

Top triathletes train in different sports on consecutive days. Running stresses the lower leg muscles most, cycling stresses the upper leg muscles most and swimming stresses the arms and shoulders most. Triathletes usually set up a workout schedule that includes two sports on one day and one on the next.
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