Avoid Double Ironman Fatigue
DOUBLE IRON FATIGUE
Double iron triathlon question.
I am currently getting up to 6k and then my body says "no more". I get to this point and become very tired and hungry, have you any suggestions on nutrition, what I can eat during the swim stage or whether this is a case of just carrying on and the body will adjust to the long distance
For you info, I currently taking on fluid every 800m
Double Iron man triathlon answer
During the Ironman Double Iron or Triple Iron swim on race day you need to consider are you going to drink food rich in carbohydrate?
During any long swim you will go from being hydrated and have enough energy stores to becoming low on energy then eventually dehydrated.
You must mimic this in training even if it means you get hungry sometimes.
Have an emergency food pack should this happen during and make sure you have plenty of carbohydrate straight afterwards.
http://www.ironmate.co.uk/Good-sports-nutriion.htm
Having problems covering the distance?
Pace judgement & intensity is vital for optimum performance for the double/ triple iron man in training & more importantly race day when you are rested have adrenaline and you go off far too fast.
To keep going and not slow down you must aim for an effort perception of between 5-7 out of 10 for the first 75% of the distance then and only then if you feel good try and pick up the pace. Note – I did not mention % of time but distance before upping the pace.
More than 5 months to race day
You are more than 5 months away from the single double triple iron swim?
You are in heavy training not use to the distance yet is all part of the body having to adapt. Your body is suffering from training stress that it is not fully recovering from yet.
You are failing to have enough energy?
Have a 10% solution or meal replacement drink during the swim bike or run.
Feeling tired after exercise is normal for full details click on.
http://www.ironmate.co.uk/avoid-fatigue.htm
http://www.ironmate.co.uk/sports-drinks.htm
Know the difference between a high (10%) low (3%) and isotonic (6%) sports drink but more importantly when to have them. This will change during the long distance event depending on your body type the intensity and the conditions (air & water temperature suns rays wind chill factor.
Less than 6 months to go to race day?
A word of warning building up you may be over reaching, that’s Ok because you can recover absorb and improve. If you feel you have over training symptoms (OTS)
For more detailed information on OTS click on
http://www.ironmate.co.uk/Overtraining-symptoms-for-endurance-athletes.htm
Mistakes to avoid
When increasing the distance of your long swim you either don’t reduce the rest of the weekly training intensity or volume.
If you struggle covering the distance in training and don’t alter the rest of the weeks training you will take a lot longer to develop the endurance required.
You will need at least 58 hours sleep a week that’s 8 hours a day average plus power naps plus a 9 hour sleep lay in.
Your body type may simply not be ready yet for increasing the distance.
One way to over come this is reduce total weeks training time or volume by 10-20% but still continue to maintain long key session.
Failing to have enough rest & relaxation avoid being on the go from waking up to going to sleep otherwise sleeping simply will not be enough.
If this does not solve the low energy levels then train at a lower intensity for the 2 sessions before your long work out.
Don’t forget if you fail to have the correct nutrition for your body type before during and after then you will always feel tired and have to slow down during long training and racing sessions.
If this does not solve the problem you are over reaching and need to back off before its too late which can take 4 months to recover from.
Trying to lose weight and train long will only cause fatigue.
Work on efficiency in training so you need fewer calories both in preparation sessions and on race day.
When tired complete a drill session rather than intervals.
Tired and hunger are 2 different things.
Tired is from the pace being too fast and the fatigue built up over days weeks and months. Hunger is simply from not having enough calories pre and during and post each work out.
If you confuse the difference you can end up eating too much and put on weight.
Iron –Double Iron – Triple Iron pace guide chart click on link below
http://www.ironmate.co.uk/pace_chart.pdf
Mark “Ironmate” Kleanthous has finished 4th & 5th in the Double ironman and 12th in the World championship triple Iron distance triathlon.
Do let Ironmate Mark know if this information was helpful?
If you found my information helpful please post a link on your blog, club web site, any forum you go on, or web site you may have and don’t forget to tell friends about www.ironmate.co.uk & www.ironmate.info/