Beet the competition!

Beetroot juice boosts endurance!
Infinit does not believe in magic ingredients or outrageous claims; athletes succeed when they train hard and smart. But recently they noticed a University of Exeter study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology that revealed drinking beetroot juice improves athletic stamina and is capable of reducing fatigue. After six days of consuming 500ml of this potent elixir, people could exercise for up to 16 per cent longer. So they got on the phone to Andy Jones at Exeter Uni to learn more. Andy reports that they discovered a significant movement in numbers after around 5 days of beetroot juice consumption. Why? Beetroot juice, better known for turning your pee red or helping fight cancer, is high in nitrates. Andy believes that the high nitrate levels are responsible for stamina improvement, since those h! igher levels have previously been linked with reducing blood pressure.

What does this mean to you? Their initial conclusions suggest that:

* Nitrate-rich food will help you perform faster, longer and stronger
* Root and/or green vegetables provide a natural source of nitrate
* Athletes should "load" for 6 days before a big race or training camp
* After a few days the effects wear offbut your training or performance results while you were "under the influence" obviously remain

The downside? Nitrates have been linked to cancer, both when added to meat and in vegetables grown with nitrate fertilizer. This may seem surprising, considering beetroot's traditional position as a healthful food for cancer patients. The natural coloring chemical anthocyanin is often given credit for the anti-carcinogenic properties. So don't go wild and drink massive doses of nitrates every day at least not until more is known.
They would recommend a healthy diet full of fruit and vegetables with a few loading periods for key times in your season. No evidence thus far has led to the conclusion that consuming beetroot while exercising will make you faster; the difference comes during and immediately after the "loading" period. Stay tuned, though I don't doubt that scientists are looking further at this wonder plant, and we may know more soon!

Sram Red Cassette 11-26, The Perfect ratio...

I love the Sram red cassette. The 11-26 cassette is a perfect training cassette – and I think its the perfect ratio for racing hilly courses as it offers a full range of gear ratios. Normally there is a trade off, i.e if you want a 25 you end up losing the 11... But with the 11 -26 you have the ability to take on the hills on the 26 and monster the descents on the 11.... Yippee!!



The cassette is crazy-light and the fact that it is machined from a solid piece of steel is pretty cool. It's also so easy to clean by just spraying a little GT 85 between the cogs and then allow it to drip off.

The chain/cassette combo is slightly noisier than Dura Ace, but not to the point of being distracting or disturbing. The power dome has a cavernous clunk when you change up but this doesn't effect its performance...It works seamlessly with my other Dura Ace components

Its brilliant... but it comes at a price, at around £150 -£175 its not cheap!!

Who said Denmark was flat??

I had prepared myself for a flat fast race and I was even contemplating using a friends disc.... I had been told that Denmark was flat, privately in my head I was thinking I wonder how close to 4 hours I can get?? previously in The World 70.3 Championships in Clearwater, I had clocked 4.12 for the same distance.


It was the Danish National Championships, a Half Ironman, consisting of 1.9km swim in the sea, 93km bike and a 21km run on mostly trail through the woods and coastal path. This consisted of a 1 lap in the sea, 4 laps of a bike loop and 4 laps on the run. This sort of course is very spectator friendly and to be honest its nice to hear the roar and support of the crowd. In the days prior to the race I recce'd the course completing a lap of each.... it was then I realised this wasn't a personal best(PB)course. DENMARK and especially Juelsminde IS NOT FLAT..... The bike course headed out into the prevailing West wind and the parts of the course that were with the wind were up hill!! and at one point a 17% climb...
The run was mostly off road and through woods and trails, momentarily heading through the town, but all in all not a fast straight course.

It started off well for me, after the initial ruckus in the swim I managed to get away from the pack and swim clear. It was then that nature ganged up to conspire against me... I swam through hundreds of jellyfish that had come in on the previous days swell. This was fine until I swam through a school of little pink ones.... Ouch!!! I was stung on both hands and between my fingers...It felt like a bee sting, but I knew it would subside, and maybe the pain gave me little more adrenalin that made me work that little harder...

As soon as I hit the bike, I knew this was where I could make my mark. My biking had been going well. I'm light and hills give me an advantage of the larger athletes. I worked my way through the athletes who had swam faster than me. It was great, each loop I couldn't wait to attack the steep climb again and I took strength from the fact no one passed me or could hold my wheel. I averaged 37km, working to the watts I'd been hitting in training. All was going to plan until I was stung again for the second time that day... a bee flew in to my mouth and stung me on the tongue!!! This was not good, it really hurt....and to be honest, I wasn't very happy!!

When I hit T2 and changed into my trainers, I tried to put this to back of my mind and powered out of the transition area to the roar of the crowd. It was awesome!!
There seemed to be no one in front of me, or if they were, I couldn't see them... I settled into my run and despite the ever changing surface and all the twists and turns I ran consistently. I put a little too much into the bike, so my run wasn't up to my normal pace. I had to hang in there....


It was a great day and a great race, I podiumed, winning the Open category and my age group category. I would have been crowned Danish National Age group champion if I wasn't English...
I was 5th overall... Hooray!! Its looking good for Ironman Wisconsin - Sept 13th

Don't let the Tri love go stale...

Vince Kamp is both a triathlete and an awesome mountain bike racer, a great friend, advisor and confidante. We've spent many hours chewing the cud about racing, improving and smashing our opposition. He has completed four Ironman races and four 70.3 races with a 3rd place finish at IMUK and 3rd place at World Champs 70.3 Clearwater Florida.

The training plan is taped up on the fridge. It hangs there taunting you. Follow me or lose the edge, hit every session to the letter or lose everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. I’m the plan, you need me, I am your master, you must execute these instructions or you will FAIL.
Is this you? The training plan is often the dictator we feel we must obey to the last threatening detail, or come race day we will be mentally beating ourselves up for missing that key session or not hitting the prescribed number of intervals at the right intensity. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, if you continue along this path, you may find that one day, tri Love has gone stale and you’ve forgotten why you got into this awesome sport in the first place.
The very nature of those that get into Triathlon, I mean really get into triathlon, is that of your stereotypical type A personality. They are highly motivated, extremely competitive and raise the bar on the definition of organized. We are goal orientated and executing a plan follows that mindset, there is reward and satisfaction at the end of a week of hitting the numbers, but this way of training can soon result in hitting a plateau, getting stuck in a rut, boredom or even depression.
So what the solution? Mix it up. I’m sure many of you already hit the trails on foot or on your mountain bike. If you don’t, you really should, off road running builds excellent strength in both joints and muscles and off road biking teaches you awesome bike handling and smooth cadence to maintain traction.
For me, there is nothing like racing offroad to really open up the engine and find out how quick single sport specialists really go. I compete in these events all through the year, there are so many amazing races out there to try your hand at.

I recently raced the Bontrager 24/12 mtb race in the 12hr pairs category as part of the Torq racing team and I don’t think I have ever been more exhausted in my life. This format of racing involves smashing a 14km offroad circuit and then handing over to your partner who then does the same. You get around 35 mins to get an energy bar and a gel into you, warm the legs up on a turbo and then get ready togo again. This goes on for either 12 or 24 hours and I can tell you by the time you hit those night laps you are thriving on a strange combo of adrenaline and any kind of sugar you can cram into your body. The feeling of hitting that finish line after 12hours of red line racing was euphoric. I was smashed for a couple of days after but the training effect over the next couple of weeks was significant. Although physiologically it was too early for any improvement, psychologically, I found I was clicking down the gears and hitting hills feeling much stronger and the watts confirmed it.
Mixing it up can make you a stronger athlete and faster triathlete, I’m convinced of it. Let us know how you mix it up.

INFINIT - Keep It Simple On The Bike

I have personally used INFINIT for 4 Ironmans and having a product that I have tried and tested allows me to take confidence into my racing.

I have detailed some of my actual experiences so you can learn from me and optimize your plan for your next big race or challenge.

I take all my calories on the bike from INFINIT, this ensures the osmolality (concentration) in my stomach is suitable for easy absorption across my small intestine, no inference with salt or calories from other sources.
I aim to consume 281 calories per hour on the bike on the bike, but I tailor my formulas to suit the different climates I race in. Kona will be very different to racing a temperate race.

Two Approaches To Consider
Superconcentrate Mix 6 scoops of your blend into each INFINIT Bottle. Take two on the bike. Each bottles supplies me with enough calories for 3 hours. During the Bike take in about 1/9 of the bottle every 20 minutes and follow with water immediately.
Notes: Using this method relies upon chasing your INFINIT with clear water after every drink, this will get it back to the intended concentration, so it can be readily absorbed and you stay adequately hydrated. Make certain you take the time to calculate how much water you will be taking in if you are sipping on an aero-bottle straw. I use this method in all my Ironman Racing to calculate your sweat rate I recommend you do a sweat test a couple times during your training season to see what your water loss is per hr for different conditions (hot and cool).
Pros/Cons: Minimal weight for the bike on hilly courses. Easy to take in 1800+ calories on bike. No stop at special needs. If chase amount of water is not calculated/practiced, dehydration can result.

Normal Concentrate - Prepare 4 bottles at normal concentrate (2-Scoops each) for start of bike. Place 3 bottles on bike and empty one into aero-bottle prior to starting race. Prepare 3 bottles at normal concentration and one at double concentration for special needs. Place bottles in ziploc bags with frozen water bottles. Notes: Using this method is simple and requires no thought while on course. I would suggest supplementing this with water as well, say between 200 -300 ml of clear water every hour.
Pros/Cons: Safe, no thinking required on course. Easy to take in 2000+ calories on bike. Requires stop at special needs (30 seconds if done right). Extra weight on hilly course.
Both of the above methods are great ways of setting yourself up for a great run! Both need to be practiced. Remember the number of calories is athlete specific; you may not need 8 servings, only race on what you have practiced in training. This advice was given to me and I recommend this to any Ironman athlete: Conserve your energy and fuel your body the best you can through the swim, the bike and the first half marathon, to allow for your best possible last 13.1 miles.
I prefer formulas with a weaker flavour this means that even when I mix my drinks super concentrated they still taste good. Drinks don't need to have a strong flavour to still have all your calories and electrolytes.

So there you have it, nutrition really is the key to racing successfully at longer distances. This weekend I'm taking on the Danes in their National Championships.... in Jeulsminde http://www.tri09.dk/ . I feel in good shape and will be a good test of my fitness prior to Ironman Wisconsin next month...