Britain’s Tim Don claimed top honours at the UWC Bahamas Triathlon last Sunday, but it was tennis stars Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki who were turning heads.
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Had a lot of fun @Bahamas_UWC w these guys @CaroWozniacki @serenawilliams @WillStevens_ & our coach Mike
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Britain’s Tim Don claimed top honours at the UWC Bahamas Triathlon last Sunday, but it was tennis stars Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki who were turning heads.
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Had a lot of fun @Bahamas_UWC w these guys @CaroWozniacki @serenawilliams @WillStevens_ & our coach Mike
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In 2013, Holly Lawrence was set on strengthening her Ironman 70.3 resume and put in a superb second place finish at Wimbleball despite a hip injury. Then she was picked for Wales’ Commonwealths Games team, and her 70.3 ambitions had to take a back seat.
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“It was such an amazing thing to be part of,” says Holly, 24. “You can’t really describe it. Even just staying in the athletes’ village – every country had their own base, so it was just like a miniature village but with lots of little villages of the countries within that. It was just a really cool environment with every country in their kits.
Sad to leave village life and go back to normality, it’s been an awesome experience! #TeamWales #Glasgow2014 pic.twitter.com/t7jNXIQbni
— Holly Lawrence (@Holly_Lawrence_) July 29, 2014
“Because I do French Grand Prix races, which attract big crowds, I’m used to racing with big support, but this was just different – you can’t really describe it – it was on a different level.
“It was a shame not to do the individual [race], which I obviously wanted to do, but just to be a part of the relay was a really good experience.”
Inclusion in Wales’ Commonwealths team did however mean 2014 didn’t go as Lawrence originally envisioned.
“[The Games] changed things last season – I didn’t race a 70.3 all year and that was always my intention. I’d just got my new Ridley time trial bike and found out the week after I’d be racing the Commonwealths, so it went straight into the spare room!”
@TeamWales triathletes getting familiar with the course! Looking good! @Glasgow2014 @BritTri pic.twitter.com/zWlWoxZTZw
— Welsh Triathlon (@WelshTriathlon) July 22, 2014
Return to endurance training
The path is set for 2015 though, with Lawrence looking to capitalise on the speed from super sprint training while getting back to more endurance-focused sessions – and using the best of both for Olympic-distance events.
“The year before last I qualified for the HyVee 5150 champs and I want to do that again next year as well as the 70.3 World Championships in Zell am See, so that’ll naturally involve doing 5150 races and 70.3s.
“I’ve always done the French Grand Prix series, which is sprint anyway, so I’ve always done that top end stuff. This year a lot of the longer sessions were swapped for faster sessions. So in swimming, I was doing a lot of 25s and 50s because the swim in the commonwealths was 250m, which was crazy short! But going into 2015, my training will obviously change with a lot more long stuff.
…Not a bad place for a turbo session!! @TrainSharp @SRAM_LOOK_TACX @Ridley_Bikes @UKmadison pic.twitter.com/6b89ZZLR0k
— Holly Lawrence (@Holly_Lawrence_) July 8, 2014
“But even next year, I’ll be taking part in the French Grand Prix races again, I think to lose them would mean I’d lose that sharpness, which I think gives me an edge on an Ironman-to-70.3 athlete as opposed to an Olympic-to-70.3 athlete. So it’s definitely transferable, but you need to adapt things – certain key sessions you need to change, but the supporting stuff around it doesn’t change too much.”
Power gains
For much of her training, Lawrence tackles the sport’s constituent disciplines individually, swimming with the Swim Wales team in Swansea – “so I get my arse kicked all the time in the pool”, running with the Swansea Harriers and receiving bike coaching through Jon Sharples and Sean Yates at Train Sharp. Like many top athletes looking for gains on the bike, Lawrence has taken the plunge with power meters for the first time this year.
“At first it was a luxury that I couldn’t justify as a business decision. But now that I’m fortunate enough to have it, I think ‘What did I do without it?’ It just gives more meaning to my training. You’re more efficient with time and you’re not working out in that grey zone where you’re pushing your easy rides too hard and you’re fatiguing yourself when that’s not the aim of your session.
“When it’s easy it’s really easy; at first it shocked me, I kept going down the gears thinking, ‘I can’t ride for four hours at this cadence,’ but you get off the bike and it feels good and you think, ‘OK, so this is how I’m meant to feel.’ Then in your next session you can hit the power you’re meant to hit.
“If you haven’t recovered from something you can see immediately that you’ve not been able to hit the power and that you need more time. So you can evaluate, it just gives a qualification that you need instead of thinking, ‘Maybe I feel like this, but I don’t really know’.”
Winter training means sunnier climes for Lawrence. “Sticking it out over winter is tough in the UK. I admire anyone who does it because I’ve had to do it in the past! When you’re slogging through a four or five hour ride in the winter and it’s freezing cold rain the whole ride, it’s really tough and motivation gets low and niggles start appearing. So for me it’s really key to get away somewhere warm and just be able to be consistent, so the weather’s not stopping you.”
Return to Wimbleball
The winter training will come in useful in 2015 as one of the events Lawrence is looking to conquer on her path to Zell am See is Ironman 70.3 Exmoor – a notoriously hard race that she has “unfinished business” with after her second place in 2013.
“It’s a strength course,” Lawrence says on how to get the best out of yourself at Wimbleball. “Although the bike’s not mega, mega hilly, everyone says it’s one of the hardest. I don’t know if I agree with that, but then I’m from that area, so it’s kind of a stomping ground for me. So I think definitely knowing the course first is key. Go and ride it a couple of months out and be confident with it so there are no surprises on race day. Even if you just get to drive it the day before, it’s worth it so you know key areas where you’re going to push or recover on downhills, things like that.”
Nutrition is also key, something that Lawrence herself is looking to nail in 2015. “As I’m relatively new to it, it’s a hard mentality to think, ‘Right, I’ve got to eat now.’ I’ve raced with a full drinks bottle before, got off the bike and realised I’d not actually drunk anything. But that’s really important, especially in a hot race.
“I use High5 and I try and have bits of the energy bar as well as gels because gels can get a bit samey, so just make sure you have enough without getting too full up that it makes you have any problems. Part of it’s finding a brand that you actually like to have, instead of having to force it down. I’m quite lucky with my product. I order my gels so that when I take them they’re all different, so it’s a bit more exciting and I don’t feel sick.”
With Wimbleball, Zell am See and HyVee set as key races on her 2015 calendar, does Lawrence see the Big Island in her future?
“Long term, at the moment, it’s definitely about 70.3. I’d like to get as good as I can at that and then maybe go full distance. I don’t want to get the Ironman shuffle quite yet!”
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Holly Lawrence is sponsored by Compressport, Ridley, Pearl Izumi and Lazer through Madison
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Around a year ago a new triathlon racing team was dreamt up over a few pints in a Yorkshire pub. Called Jackpot Racing, its founders wanted athletes aiming to “compete rather than complete”.
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Early success included a silver medal for Jonny McLean at the European Sprint Championships in Kitzbühel, and elite brothers Tom and David Bishop racked up podium places at the Lough Cutra, Blenheim and the Jenson Button Triathlon.
Colin Hill and Chris Brown represented Jackpot Racing at the Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Mont-Tremblant, Canada, just just one week after Mika Brown raced for Team GB at the World Sprint Championships in Edmonton.
The team are not just sprinters and standard distance athletes: Tom Van Rossum posted a fast 9:38:50 at Ironman Sweden, and Matt Wilson broke the 12 hour barrier in his first long distance race with 11:34:55 at the same race. Eddie Howarth came sixth sixth overall at the Bala Middle Distance race, and finished Ironman Zurich in 10:09:18.
Other top age groupers racing this year in the team’s blue, black and white kit included Jenni Muston – who started her season with a win at the Oulton Park Standard Duathlon and went on to win the Leeds Triathlon in September – and Andrew Whitely, who finished second at the Ripon Triathlon then won the Buttermere Triathlon.
There are currently 23 athletes in the squad, with plans to add more elites and age-groupers for 2015. We’ll be keeping a close on their progress next race season…
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Did you battle against the new Jackpot Racing this season? Let us know in the comments!
Around a year ago a new triathlon racing team was dreamt up over a few pints in a Yorkshire pub. Called Jackpot Racing, its founders wanted athletes aiming to “compete rather than complete”.
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Early success included a silver medal for Jonny McLean at the European Sprint Championships in Kitzbühel, and elite brothers Tom and David Bishop racked up podium places at the Lough Cutra, Blenheim and the Jenson Button Triathlon.
Colin Hill and Chris Brown represented Jackpot Racing at the Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Mont-Tremblant, Canada, just just one week after Mika Brown raced for Team GB at the World Sprint Championships in Edmonton.
The team are not just sprinters and standard distance athletes: Tom Van Rossum posted a fast 9:38:50 at Ironman Sweden, and Matt Wilson broke the 12 hour barrier in his first long distance race with 11:34:55 at the same race. Eddie Howarth came sixth sixth overall at the Bala Middle Distance race, and finished Ironman Zurich in 10:09:18.
Other top age groupers racing this year in the team’s blue, black and white kit included Jenni Muston – who started her season with a win at the Oulton Park Standard Duathlon and went on to win the Leeds Triathlon in September – and Andrew Whitely, who finished second at the Ripon Triathlon then won the Buttermere Triathlon.
There are currently 23 athletes in the squad, with plans to add more elites and age-groupers for 2015. We’ll be keeping a close on their progress next race season…
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Did you battle against the new Jackpot Racing this season? Let us know in the comments!
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Good news Xterra warriors – next year’s Xterra England will double up as the Xterra European Championship, with more prize money for the pros and a chance for the amateurs to stake their claim as the best off-road duathletes in Europe.
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The race will be held at the Vachery Estate in Surrey on 29-30 August, and will offer a $25k prize purse for the elites. For the age-groupers, it will be their last chance in Europe to secure one of the 50 remaining qualifying spots for the 20th edition of the Xterra World Championship in Hawaii.
“We’re thrilled to be able to host a race of this magnitude on the storied grounds of Vachery Estate,” said organiser Dave Nicholas. “Our experience last year was superb, from the course itself to the spectating. We felt like we established something special and are excited to share that with the worldwide endurance sports community.”
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The championship distance will combine a 1.5km swim, 30km bike and 11km trail run. There is also a half-distance sprint race option and athletes can join together to tackle either triathlon as part of a relay team. New for 2015, Xterra will also host 5km and 15km trail runs on Saturday 29th, and rumours abound about a bonfire and movie night.
Conrad Stoltz (RSA) and Emma Garrard (USA) won this year’s Xterra England in perfect conditions, with Stoltz claiming his fiftieth Xterra title and Garrard her first.
Registration is open now with early bird and loyalty discounts in effect until the end of this year. Learn more at www.xterraengland.com.
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Will you be racing Xterra England next year? Let us know in the comments below!
Good news Xterra warriors – next year’s Xterra England will double up as the Xterra European Championship, with more prize money for the pros and a chance for the amateurs to stake their claim as the best off-road duathletes in Europe.
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The race will be held at the Vachery Estate in Surrey on 29-30 August, and will offer a $25k prize purse for the elites. For the age-groupers, it will be their last chance in Europe to secure one of the 50 remaining qualifying spots for the 20th edition of the Xterra World Championship in Hawaii.
“We’re thrilled to be able to host a race of this magnitude on the storied grounds of Vachery Estate,” said organiser Dave Nicholas. “Our experience last year was superb, from the course itself to the spectating. We felt like we established something special and are excited to share that with the worldwide endurance sports community.”
The championship distance will combine a 1.5km swim, 30km bike and 11km trail run. There is also a half-distance sprint race option and athletes can join together to tackle either triathlon as part of a relay team. New for 2015, Xterra will also host 5km and 15km trail runs on Saturday 29th, and rumours abound about a bonfire and movie night.
Conrad Stoltz (RSA) and Emma Garrard (USA) won this year’s Xterra England in perfect conditions, with Stoltz claiming his fiftieth Xterra title and Garrard her first.
Registration is open now with early bird and loyalty discounts in effect until the end of this year. Learn more at www.xterraengland.com.
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Will you be racing Xterra England next year? Let us know in the comments below!
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British Triathlon has confirmed that Rockingham Circuit in Corby, Northamptonshire will play host to next year’s British Elite Duathlon Championships on Sunday 29 March 2015.
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The event will feature races for elite youths, juniors, seniors and an open paraduathlon, with many athletes expected to test their winter training in this traditional season opener.
The seniors and juniors will compete over sprint distance duathlon (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run), battling it out for a share of a £5,000 prize fund as well the first British Elite Championship honours of the season.
The junior race also kick-starts the British Triathlon Junior Super Series. Paraduathletes will compete over the same distance, with all classifications catered for.
Youth duathletes will compete over half the distance of the seniors (2.5km run, 10km bike, 1.25km run), with the race also acting as the season opener of the British Triathlon Youth Super Series. All races will be held over a multi-lap format, making it a great event for spectators.
This year’s women’s race was won by Emma Pallant (main picture above), who was unfortunately ineligible for British honours as she was racing in ITU colours, so it was Katie Hewison who took prime spot on the women’s podium. The men’s race was won by Phil Wylie in 53:49mins.
Entries are now open on www.britishtriathlon.org.
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Will you be racing at Rockingham next March? Let us know in the comments!
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British Triathlon has confirmed that Rockingham Circuit in Corby, Northamptonshire will play host to next year’s British Elite Duathlon Championships on Sunday 29 March 2015.
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The event will feature races for elite youths, juniors, seniors and an open paraduathlon, with many athletes expected to test their winter training in this traditional season opener.
The seniors and juniors will compete over sprint distance duathlon (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run), battling it out for a share of a £5,000 prize fund as well the first British Elite Championship honours of the season.
The junior race also kick-starts the British Triathlon Junior Super Series. Paraduathletes will compete over the same distance, with all classifications catered for.
Youth duathletes will compete over half the distance of the seniors (2.5km run, 10km bike, 1.25km run), with the race also acting as the season opener of the British Triathlon Youth Super Series. All races will be held over a multi-lap format, making it a great event for spectators.
This year’s women’s race was won by Emma Pallant (main picture above), who was unfortunately ineligible for British honours as she was racing in ITU colours, so it was Katie Hewison who took prime spot on the women’s podium. The men’s race was won by Phil Wylie in 53:49mins.
Entries are now open on www.britishtriathlon.org.
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Will you be racing at Rockingham next March? Let us know in the comments!
(This article was originally published on BikeRadar)
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In mid-December the first BSXinsight wearable lactate threshold monitors will begin shipping.
Announced back in March via a Kickstarter campaign, the US$369 devices slip inside a calf compression sleeve, where data is recorded for post-workout upload via a smartphone app.
The end result, the company claims, is lactate threshold data that can inform training, previously only available to athletes via pin-prick blood tests done in medical centres and high-end training facilities.
Instead of the lab-standard model of measuring lactic acid in the blood every few minutes, the BSXinsight monitors muscle oxygenation via a light array shined into the calf. BSXinsight then runs an algorithm to give users lactate threshold (LT) power and heart rate numbers, plus training zones based on percentages of those figures.
“Lactate threshold is the gold standard of performance testing, and the blood-testing method has been around for 50 years,” said Dustin Freckleton, president and co-founder of BSXinsight.
“Researchers discovered that by doing these incremental testings [as power and/or pace ramps up], taking blood samples along the way, and plotting results of lactate concentrations, you see this thick hockey stick curve towards the end. What that spike represents is the point at which the athlete moves from a predominantly aerobic state to an anaerobic state.”
The original idea for BSXinsight was to beam real-time data to Garmin or other cycling computers via an ANT+ signal, and that may still come in version 2.0. The current unit, however, will be started and stopped by a smartphone app, and information will be transmitted to BSXinsight.com for analysis. The app walks riders through a progressive LT test, as well, to be done on a trainer with a power meter.
The BSXinsight measurement is done with standard LED bulbs.
“Each type of light interacts differently with different type of tissues,” Freckleton said. “Some reflect light, some are absorbed. Based on those interactions of distortion and absorption, we are able to determine what is going on inside the muscle.”
While the company recommends using the unit for lactate threshold tests every few weeks, BSXinsight can also give daily feedback on muscle oxygenation levels. And, very much unlike lab LT test equipment, the unit is designed to be worn while riding outside.
But what exactly would a cyclist do with muscle oxygenation data? Freckleton and other physiologists admit that this is still exploratory, “similar to where heart-rate and power data were when they first came out,” Freckleton said. “There are no clear guidelines as to how to use it.”
The main premise and selling point of the device for now, however, is a way to measure or at least approximate a rider’s lactate threshold. In rough terms, lactate threshold is closely associated with the maximum level of sustainable output. If you can quantify this point, either in power output or in heart rate, you can more effectively train to improve it.
A common way to approximate a lactate threshold test without lab gear is to ride as hard as you can for an hour, then look at your average power and/or heart rate for the last 20min of the effort. This could be called your LT power or heart rate.
Traditional LT tests involve pricking a rider’s finger every few minutes to measure lactic concentration as power is incrementally increased
In the lab, lactate threshold tests typically involve ramping up power (usually by 20 watts every four minutes), and measuring lactic acid by taking small blood samples from the fingertip, looking for the point when lactic acid starts to spike.
The team behind BSXinsight are hoping that having a portable consumer unit that calculates lactate threshold without the pin pricks — or the lab costs — could find a market among cyclists, runners and triathletes.
The US$299 running version will pair with heart-rate monitors. The US$369 cycling version will pair with heart-rate monitors and power meters, via ANT+, but not cadence sensors, at least for now. And there is also a US$419 multisport version. All come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. BSXinsight is still awaiting product certification approval outside the US, but Freckleton expects to have that soon.
The BSXinsight device comprises an LED emitter plus a pair of photodetectors that measure the scattered light
So does it work?
At FasCat Coaching in Boulder, Colorado on Friday, several high-level coaches gathered for a demonstration. Present among them was Neal Henderson, a veteran coach who was worked with several Olympians and world champions. Henderson said that there is “certainly reason to believe a correlation between muscle oxygenation and lactate threshold, but it is all about the algorithms. I want to see the data under the hood.”
Freckleton said coaches will have access to complete data sets from BSXinsight files, downloadable in .csv files, while consumers can just look at the more layman-friendly dashboard on BSXinsight.com.
At the demonstration, BSXinsight enlisted a local cyclist to perform a LT test using both the pin-prick method and a BSXinsight unit simultaneously. The pin-prick data returned interesting results, with a dip in lactic acid at the 340w mark relative to measurements at 320w and 360w, which several coaches in attendance chalked up to sodium contamination from the rider’s sweat.
Still, Freckleton called the LT power from the pin-prick test at 360w, while using BSXinsight determined the rider’s LT power at 374w. An LT test done the prior week on the same rider at FasCat Coaching resulted in a 355w LT.
Rob Pickels, a sports physiologist at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, said that while he “absolutely sees a correlation” between muscle oxygenation and LT, the current technology and science around it “is exploratory.”
But the same goes for lactic acid, he said. “If anyone can tell you specifically what causes fatigue, then they are the smartest person in the world,” Pickels said. The BSXinsight unit, he said, “is very interesting. I’m not ready to say it’s absolutely ready, but I am interested.”
(Images: Ben Huang / Immediate Media)
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Would you use a lactate threshold monitor like BSXinsight? Let us know in the comments!