Swimming tends to be the most difficult leg of a triathlon for athletes. Why is this? I believe it is because people are scared, frustrated, lacking knowledge, or time constrained. For one or more of these reasons athletes don’t master the swim. Even when they get confident in the pool they still struggle in races. So I’m setting out to help you conquer the reason the swim is tough for you.

Swimming is all about being comfortable in the water. If you are scared then you are fighting the water. Did you have a traumatic experience as a kid near water? It could have been in the bathtub or friend’s pool or at the beach. If that experience wasn’t dealt with then you may have a lot of anxiety around water. If this is you then you can’t expect to start swimming laps and training for a triathlon. First you must become comfortable in the water!

How do you get comfortable (if you are already a swimmer these are still great drills for you to work on).
Float on your back
Float on your stomach
Kick on your side with fins on
Sink to the bottom
Bobs

Are you frustrated in the water? Do you feel like you are fighting and getting too tired every time you swim? I’d say that would lead to hating the swim for sure. Once you are comfortable in the water you need to become efficient. Think about how you would feel if you had to ride into a 20mph headwind every time you got on the bike. That is exactly what most people are doing who lack efficiency in the water! There is absolutely NO reason to be frustrated. Anyone can become more efficient in the water, well except may be Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps. The best way to become more efficient is to get a coach to work with you. Shameless plug - I hold swim clinics every fall and winter with a couple of phenomenal coaches - Carol Henry and Brianna Phillips. They are incredibly reasonably priced to rid you of the frustration around swimming. (www.hislopcoaching.com and hislopcoaching on Facebook). There are many great coaches and swim instructors who can really help with getting you efficient, so bump this to the top of your to do list. Sometimes improvement does mean one on one instruction.

So often I see people in the pool training for a triathlon. They are swimming laps and psyched as they hit 500 without stopping and then 1000 and 1500. They get in 3 times a week and swim that distance - non stop. Then they wonder why their swim leg isn’t improving. Why is the swim in the race still hard? If you go out an run 3 miles at 8:30 pace every day you can be pretty confident that you will run an 8:30 pace in your next 5K. Figuring out swim workouts can be tough. Knowing what drills are right for you and how to figure out intervals isn't easy. Another place a coach can help or joining Masters swim. Most people don't realize that masters in swimming is anyone over 25! We have some great masters swim groups at the Southern Saratoga Y on Wednesday mornings at 5:30 am  and Tuesday/Thursday from 12-1pm. Both will start up the 2nd week in September.

Time is always an issue with swimming. It takes time to get to the pool, change, swim, change and get on with your day. So try to make your pool trips more effective. Do your strength work after the swim or swim and jump in a spin class. For those who don't love getting wet in the winter a Vasa trainer is an option. The Vasa allows you to swim on dry land with power. It can be an incredibly intense workout and really allows you to perfect your catch and pull. You can sign up for Vasa trainings here.

Should I try it?
Because CBD is not regulated from the FDA there is not clear dosing information. In studies the dosing is typically quite a bit higher than what companies marketing the products would and do suggest. As with any supplement you want to know if it has an potential interactions with current medications.

Who should stay away? Medical experts say women who are breastfeeding or pregnant. The known side effects are tiredness, diarrhea and change in appetite and weight (typically not the direction everyone wants).

The biggest issue is that since the supplement market is not regulated you have no idea what is in the product. You should look for products with CBD (not just cannabinoids) and have the amount of CBD per serving. Better yet are products that have third party testing. In states where marijuana is legal the CBD products are regulated. In states like NY it is not, so the CBD oil you got at the gas station may just be coconut and essential oils. Since this is a fast growing industry it is better to understand where and how the hemp is grown. You also want to know what else is in your oil or lotion. Look for a full spectrum CBD oil. If the company is saying that their product will cure everything then steer away. Again there hasn’t been enough research to prove conclusively that CDB will provide pain relief in all patients. However the research is promising enough that you may want to add it into your health protocol.

How much do you need?
More is not better! Any reputable company will tell you to start with small doses. Appropriate dosing depends on the product, body weight, gender, metabolism and body chemistry. Many of the CBD oils come with a stopper. You can start with a drop or two under the tongue. Hold it there for at least 30 seconds before swallowing. Effects can be as quick as 30-90 minutes. You will also find CBD in capsules, gummies and lotions.

The tinctures that you put under your tongue is the fastest way to get CBD into your system. The capsules and gummies tend to be lower concentrations and get absorbed into through your digestive tract. When CBD is administered sublingually (under your tongue)  absorption is achieved within 10‐15 minutes, which is generally much faster than when ingested orally. From a value standpoint, sublingual is more cost effective since the percent of each dose absorbed is generally higher than that achieved by oral ingestion (capsules). If you are interested in a slower release then maybe capsules or gummies are the right option.

Another delivery mechanism for CBD is the largest organ - your skin. Many of the pain relief lotions include menthol in oil or cream bases. These creams deliver CBD to a localized area and are typically used for pain and inflammation. Many athletes have turned to CBD lotions to help with muscle soreness and inflammation due to training.

The World Anti Doping Agency removed CBD from its list of banned substances in January, so now more athletes turn to it for pain relief instead of ibuprofen and related drugs. However you want to know how you metabolize substances especially if you are potentially being drug tested. Unless you are using a product that has been 3rd party verified and tested you may be getting more than trace amounts of THC.

Final Thoughts
While it would be nice to get to the route of anxiety and stress and rid our lives of it. That likely won’t happen easily. Stress often leads to less quality sleep which can lead to greater levels of inflammation in the body. Why not try CBD to stop the cycle as you try to alleviate stress and work on anxiety? Athletes aren’t going to stop pushing the bodies and while we need to know pain and now how and when to recover. After a heavy training session a little CBD cream might help with pain so that sleep comes easier. CBD is a better option that NSAIDs that are incredibly hard on the stomach.
Find products that are third party tested. If the company is saying their product will cure every ailment you have then walk away, quickly.

Start with a low dose and see how you feel. For systemic inflammation, auto immune conditions, anxiety, depression or sleep issues then I would go for the full spectrum CBD in a dropper bottle. A couple of drops under the tongue for 30 seconds and then swallow. If you are looking for relief from muscle pain or arthritic pain then I would look at the rubs or salves. If it is a skin condition like psoriasis or rosacea then a lotion would be a good option. Typically those conditions are related to your gut health, so dietary changes are needed as well, but you can get topical relief from lotions.
We need to get through daily life so let's do it with the best products out there and really help ourselves. I've teamed up with Power Surge Wellness  (grown in Oregon, processed in Florida and 3rd party tested) to provide you with some of the products that I think are really good and a couple of my favorites are the Freeze Rub and the Full Spectrum Tincture.

Check out Hislop Coaching to try some today.
Questions?

I talk about the value, but sometimes pictures can really help. I had hoped to do a resting metabolic test before a class this morning, but ran out of time. I did an Orangetheory class in a fasted state - not a great idea for women, but wanted a clean slate for the RMR test post workout. Since I broke my toe earlier in the week I used the elliptical and was able to row, but with a little less power on the leg drive. It was a workout divided between row, elliptical and floor. When there is a lot of down time my HR plummets, so between that and the broken toe it is not surprising that I eked out only 1 coveted splat point. From an aerobic standpoint this should have been a great fat burning session. (stay tuned for a calorie burn analysis with the 4 different devices I have!)

I had to pick Jack up from track before I could get the first RMR test done, so I was 1 hour post workout for the first test. My base REE - resting energy expenditure - what I need to stay alive - was 1397 calories. Yup pretty much a bummer with what I consume daily. But I digress.  My RER or respiratory exchange ratio was .87. RER is the ratio between the amount of CO2 produced in metabolism and O2 used. An RER of .7 means you are using predominantly fat as your fuel source. A value of 1.0 means you are using all carbohydrates (remember we only have 2,500 calories of carbs stored on our bodies at any one time). An RER of .85 will put you in the 50/50 mix realm. When you get to .9 you are predominantly burning sugars and affectionately named a sugar burner by me! At .87 I am higher than I would like to be. I would prefer to be burning through more fat stores when I am sitting in a chair with a nose clip pinching my nostrils closed.

How do you get there? Well nutrition is a HUGE component. Yes, exercise is important and should be a part of everyone’s lives, but it is nutrition that plays bigger role in our overall health. I tell people that to get their body burning more fats they need to change their fuel mix. I tell them that it is important to get protein and good fats in post workout. I tell them that they should strive to get protein in their mouth first at a meal before any good carbohydrates. And guess what - the proof is in the charts.

I did a second RMR test after having 2 eggs with some cheddar cheese and a dollop of guacamole. I had three bites of just the eggs first (and no I am not normally so good at doing what I tell my athletes to do!). The second RMR test was about a half hour after first and just a few minutes after eating. My REE was now 1301 calories. That means that yes there is an after burn effect - however it is small (80 calories) and only last a couple of hours for women. If I had gotten more time at a higher heart rate I would have seen a bit more, but when I did the test a few months ago the extra calorie boost was short lived. The studies on the awesome after burn have been done on men. Sorry ladies don’t count on churning through hundreds of extra calories post workout. The bigger news is that my fuel mix changed. I ate breakfast and then went to do the 2nd test. It was not enough time to get to my stomach and be digested, but during the first phase of digestion your saliva moistening food helps to create a food bolus, so it can be swallowed easily. Saliva contains enzymes that break down some starches and proteins. So you are already digesting before food reaches the stomach. Your brain will receive messages about the food you are eating and allows your body to react. Did you know that if you swish a glucose solution in your mouth your brain will think that the body is going to receive the sugar and will allow the body to react as if those sugars are already circulating in the blood stream.

For the benefit of my athletes I do test things on myself. I did the glucose swishing for a marathon and had great energy until I didn’t because I was dehydrated from not drinking enough! So, while you can trick the body you do need to be smart about it!

Back to the 2nd RMR test. My fuel mix did indeed change. Down to .85. That still is not optimal. I would prefer to be under .8 so I am burning more fats at rest. I know what I need to eat, but I'm still a carb loader/sugar lover. So I am going to work on a more metabolically efficient nutrition plan and in a month test again to see how much I can change my numbers.

If you are interested to see where you are then schedule a Resting Metabolic Rate test. For $50 you can learn a lot. Email hislopcoaching@gmail.com for more information or to get any questions answered.

The half marathon continues to grow in popularity. Athletes put in the long runs and figure out how to fuel for 13.1 miles. The half marathon can be social. People are willing to travel to run 13.1 or 26.2 and tend to do it with a group. It becomes a mini vacation with a road trip, hotel, group meals and of course the race. 

What makes it so appealing? The distance of course. Long is hard, right? You have to train. You put in the hours, figure out your nutrition and make sacrifices. Then that finish line is glory. Too often you hear people, after having completed their first 13.1, refer to other events as 'just a 5K'. What? I wonder what they would say about the mile. Likely they would say it is too short, barely a workout, or not enough of a calorie burn. No - I challenge them - - those are the real reasons. The real reason people don't run the mile is that it is hard.. Yes it only takes a few minutes, but those minutes are way harder than any 1 minute in a 13.1 mile run.

When was the last time you pushed yourself. I mean pushed to the limit. Really tested to see what you could do? That is the mile. No time for mistakes, or to fuel or to contemplate your why. You are in the moment for the whole race. You are present enjoying (or maybe not) every step around the track or on the road. You are pedal to the metal, well that is if you want a medal.

People gravitate to the longer distances. The conquer the 5K and decide to aim for a 10K and then the 13.1. Some start right out of the gate with their eyes on the big prize - a half marathon or if they are really loopy 26.2. Absolutely an awesome challenge, but for another milestone goal how about the mile? I am writing this just after a series of road miles and then the USATF Night of Miles on the Shenendehowa track. After seeing who shows up for the mile events I think it is time for more people to choose a mile race. Now, since we just had them all and we are headed to the half and full marathon season I am going to cut you some slack! You have 9 months to train for a mile! We have 2 new mile races in the area. The Malta Mile is in May. The Route 50 mile is in June and the Clifton Park Freedom Mile is on the 4th of July. Then you can put the road miles to the test on the track at the USATF Night of Miles, a July event. So pick your race(s) and let's see how fast you can go. How hard can you push?

Want help and inspiration? Come to the Shenendehowa track in Clifton Park on Tuesday mornings at 5:30am for a track workout. It is a different workout each week and most are getting ready for longer events in the fall, so perfect timing. Track workouts are great because no matter your pace you never get left behind and I'll guarantee you'll see improvements in your times at any distance. Did you know that Marisa Sutera Strange smashed the National record for the 55-59 age group in the mile at the USATF Night of Miles. She ran 5:27.08 (record is pending certification, prior record was 5:32). The Shen track is FAST - come see for yourself.

Marisa with local incredible Masters runner Renee Tolan after the record breaking run.

Heart rate training has become more mainstream over the past few years. It used to be primarily endurance athletes who cared and tracked their workouts. I like to use heart rate (HR) to gauge a number of things with my athletes - effort, recovery, pacing, and progress. There are definite drawbacks to heart rate training like the fact that in short interval work your HR will lag your effort and the fact that stress, heat, cold, caffeine and illness can affect your heart rate.

It also used to be that you could only get your heart rate off of a strap around your chest. Now many devices offer heart rate in the wrist or on the forearm. Chest straps measure the small electrical impulses given off by your heart as the muscles contract. You need good conductivity for a chest strap to work - that means moisture between the sensor and your skin. The wrist based monitors are optical heart rate sensors that actually read your blood flow. Bone, fat and blood will all absorb light differently, so blood flow can be detected and an algorithm determines the heart rate.  Readings can  be compromised by light leaking in and affecting the sensor, the motion of your arm and even the movement in your wrist.

This study - which you need to pay for to read - says that "depending on the type of activity, the wrist devices were up to 34 beats per minute off". Another study published by the American College of Cardiology done at the Cleveland Clinic had similar findings. "We found these devices can equally over- and underestimate heart rate. The error ranged from +/-34 beats per minute to +/-15 beats per minute, depending on the type of activity." This study included 50 volunteers, mostly Cleveland Clinic employees who were 38 years old on average, They were fitted with some of the most popular devices. They found that same that I found in my sample size of 1. The more vigorous the motion the bigger the difference in reading between the chest strap and the watch.  When I was running faster on the treadmill there was a greater variance between the wrist and chest strap and at times it was up to 30 beats!

If you want a good reading on the wrist you need to make sure you have the watch on tight, so that it won't move around. I would tell you I did have it on snug since I had marks on my arm when I took it off, but maybe it was still moving around to create the different reading.

Because I find all of this interesting and I like to educate I am providing the data off both devices (see below) for an Orangetheory class. Jen told me that this class's results were postable as it was the most splat points I have amassed to date. Certainly not what most people get, but when I go to the rower or floor I just can't keep my heart rate high (and of that I am happy).

A few things jump out at me:
1. calories - Garmin says 489 while Mio (OTF's device) says 548. I do have my resting metabolic rate entered in the Garmin, so I am more inclined to believe I was in the mid 400s range.
2. My average HR on the Garmin was 137 and on the Mio it was 143. About 1/2 of the class is on the treadmill and the other half is primarily strength.
3. This was an 'endurance' class. Treadmill time is a ladder going down in interval time with base pace (10:00/mile), push pace (7:30) and all out (6:30-6:40). On the push and all out my HR was in the 150s with one punch up to 166 on the Garmin. Looking at the monitor on the wall the Mio had me up in the 170s and even 180 (I never get there even racing hard). Hence the difference in the zone charts. I did manage to hit a 5:15 pace on my Garmin, but certainly not enough to register even 1% in the red. Both said I was in the green for the greatest percentage of time and I would agree based on how I felt.
4. Caution: I know that the calories listed are not really what my body burns as I happen to know exactly how much fat/carbs my body utilizes at different heart rates. That will be different even than the Garmin reading. What I worry about (and I do worry about these things) is that people who take a class and look at all the red and orange will think woo hoo I burned all those calories and now I have an after burn, so let me go eat. STOP. After burn as many like to call it is excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) or the number of calories expended above resting values after a workout. You may hear you'll get a greater burn for 24 or even 48 hours after an intense class. Well guys you might get a better burn, but that all depends on your fitness. Ladies not so much. Research shows that energy expenditure in women at rest and during exercise varies with the menstrual phase and is much shorter than for men. Typically, resting energy expenditure is lowest 1 week before ovulation and highest during the 14-day luteal phase following ovulation, affecting EPOC accordingly. Other research has shown that the window is much shorter in the range of 1- 8 hours. In this study the effect was a mere 30 minutes of acute response. Some good news? Most classes are an hour and this study found that EPOC was 2x that of a 20 or 40 min workout. More on this to come!

Bottom line? You need to understand the device you are using, how your zones are being calculated and what you hope to get out of the data. More on heart rate zones here.

Our family has a favorite protein powder made by Power House Athletics. Sometimes you run out and then what? You can actually make your own.

Start with a protein base. Casein is a great protein for the before bed protein shake. Research shows that muscle recover better with casein a night (slow release). So for a milk based powder use whey or milk powder.  Bob's Red Mill makes both. For plant-based protein, you can also use whole nuts or seeds, like almonds, sunflower seeds, or hemp hearts. You can also use protein rich flours like pea or quinoa. You can use a couple of protein sources. Put a 1/2 cup in a blender or food processor and blend. Then add 1/2 cup oats (source of fiber, carbs and some protein). It will also help thicken the smoothie. To add even more fiber and protein you can add 1/3 cup chia seeds, ground flaxseed or wheat germ.

If you are adding fruit or veggies you may not need additional flavor. But most of us like some flavor base. For chocolate protein powder, toss in 2 tablespoons cocoa (or cacao, or carob) powder. For vanilla, use the scrapings of ¼ of a vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon vanilla powder. For coffee, 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder.

After you add the flavoring to the food processor then process until you get a powder—depending on the ingredients you used, it may not be perfectly powdery, and that’s OK.

Transfer the protein powder to an airtight container or jar and store in the fridge, For a smoothies, use about 2 tablespoons protein powder in a your favorite smoothie recipe.

Alex's evening protein shake
1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 small banana
1 cup frozen fruit (berries and kale)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

His order is critical :-) banana, frozen fruit , cinnamon, protein powder and milk. He uses the nutribullet for a well blended smoothie!

What is your favorite protein shake recipe?