Chocolate Milk -- aaa um No!

The following is something I wrote to a past client that didn't ask.

I also wanted to add some comments to the choc milk discussion. I was debating on putting this information on the post but decided to stay mute.

From my experience as an athlete as well as coaching.... I have seen nothing but positive results in athletic performance and body composition from eliminating milk / dairy.

Without going into a lot of detail about research or marketing, I do believe we as a culture have been falsely led into believing milk is a good if not the best option for our nutrition. (as for calcium, yes we need it, but good nutrition and weight bearing exercise will provide adequate bone density)

Generally speaking from a sports performance standpoint the research shows about 3% improvement in performance.

In my opinion these improvements could come 2 or 3 areas or a combination of all:

• Loss of body fat - on avg with my clients about 3-7%
• Improved breathing function - less mucus (there are several studies showing this) 
• Improved Iron absorption - studies show calcium inhibits iron absorption

These three alone have convinced me that we are better off as athletes without milk. (If an athlete has stomach issues in while racing this brings in a whole other set of factors.)

Now on the recovery side. There is no doubt given a lack of any other recovery supplements... chocolate milk has a place as a recovery drink... but for me it's near the bottom of that list.

I'll stop now...

The Road Ahead

I have officially begun my training for Ironman Arizona 2011.

I am going to post my goal for IMAZ here as a method of accountability.  In November 2008, I completed the course in 9h21m.  I left feeling very satisfied but like I had more in my tank.  However, as I sit here today those hopes were washed away by at least one baby and a couple or 3 semesters of grad school.  I've come into this training block (Six Months) with a little less ambition.

My Goal:  Qualify for Hawaii 2012.  In order for me to accomplish this, I need to train to a 9h40m Ironman finish time.  I believe this time is definitely a possibility for me.

With the semester winding down, I have managed to have a few consistent weeks of training (through a lot of encouragement from Quent).  I'm starting with run focus until I get my weekly distance to a mileage in which I'm running with a mile pace I think I should be. (currently 8:20 is comfortable)  With my body weight being higher than normal, pushing my pace is tough at the moment and everything suffers.

Today, I committed to an International Distance Triathlon this weekend.  (.9 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run)  I also completed a short workout through which I am able to predict my pace for the event.  This will help me judge my effort I will use complete the course.  Notice I said complete not race.

My predictions 24min swim, 1h15m bike, 45min run for a 2h25m finish.  

Just for fun... if we do some simple math and multiply this time by 4 (roughly the Ironman distance) we get a product of 9 hours 40 mins.

Strength Is Relative

So many things could be said about this .... I will encourage you to watch and develop your own strength routine.
http://www.wimp.com/trainingbars/

Emotions when racing

Tim kindly allowed me to contribute to his blog... a different perspective... Thanks Tim, hopefully you won't regret it!! I felt compelled to write today because I was recently asked for some advice on how to handle intense emotional reactions on the golf course. If you've ever played golf, I am sure you are familiar with the roller-coaster of experiences that sometimes come from this frustrating, yet addictive game. I thought about the uniqueness of golf and how important it is to keep your anxiety in check when playing: anger, frustration, even over-confidence can wreak havoc on your attentional focus. Endurance athletes don't require the same level of precise skill in order to execute their "game plan" however, the emotions that you experience out on the race course have similar impact in terms of derailing your focus. I advised my friend to choose his emotional state PRIOR to stepping onto the golf course. In other words, he should decide exactly how much anxiety he would allow himself to feel and give himself a narrow window. Confidence comes from being calm and quietly attentive (that is borrowed from Mark Allen) not from being ego-driven. If you watch the best of the best athletes, you will often see that their emotional profile is very narrow. They do not stray far from their optimal level of arousal. The amount of anxiety that you are able to handle is totally unique to you. Performing well is a matter of actively choosing the level of emotion (which goes hand in hand with anxiety) that you will maintain. If this means writing notes on the back of your hand to remind yourself of how you WANT to feel, do it! I have often considered some type of tattoo on my wrist as a reminder but that might be going a bit far.

Tim Key goes transatlantic

Hello from JL, based in Great Britain, Tim trained me for my first IM in 2003. Sadly I did not compete again until 2009 but I've been back at it for a couple or years now and Tim is looking after me in the lead up to challenge Roth later this year. I am looking forward to blogging with you all over the coming months.

Metamorphoses of Two Athletes

I can write the same workout for two athletes.

I can do nothing to improve the athletes at equal rates. Rate of improvement depends on the individuals athletic history and ability to recover. In fact, workouts which are above an individuals ability will make them progress slower due to time needed for adaptation.

Short

Jerred: ouch - http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/article/36686/

Tim: that's nothing new... i've been 2 inches short my whole life