By Senior Coach - Lisa Spink

By now most athletes know about run - walk strategies for endurance events. Obviously, it is mixing run intervals with walk intervals – no rocket science in that! But is this strategy confined to the completers or is it a sound strategy for those wanting to reach their absolute potential and why?

Let’s drive into some of science and practical applications of the run - walk strategy.

Initially a run - walk strategy was possibly thought of for those who didn’t think they could cover the distance running the entire way - so to be able to complete the event they used a run - walk strategy and it works.
Then it evolved and we saw elites, such as Jan Frodeno win Kona with a run - walk strategy. “Interestingly for a man with such prodigious speed and strength, Frodeno won more with conservative wisdom than brute power. When recounting his race, he gave much credit to his habit of walking through many aid stations on the run. He explained to Slowtwitch that slowing down to take in the hydration and nutrition and letting his core temperature cool down.  Ultra-runners use run-walk strategies in track, road and trail events again with the goal to improve performance not just to be able to complete the distance.

So, I think we can say a run - walk strategy is a legitimate strategy to be explored for improving your performance regardless of the level of competition. For some athletes this will mean losing the ego and doing as Frodeno did, using “wisdom” to reach their potential. Now, I say “explore” because some events and athletes maybe more or less suited to this strategy so as always N=1, but let’s be smart enough to use the best strategy for the event we are racing in.

Why do run - walk strategies work? This is an interesting topic in which an Assoc Professor friend from Universite Rennes II (France) and I have chatted about for several years following research he did involving ultra-running and fatigue (I was privilege to part of discussion group and a guinea pig for his research). So apart from the above important aspects sighted by Frodeno, which included the ability to take in hydration, calories and cooling the core body temp in the notoriously hot run conditions of Kona – there are physiological and biomechanical considerations as well.

The first, is the strategy can assist in controlling the RPE at the start of the run. Many athletes fall into the trap of extending themselves at the start of the run (either in a triathlon or in a straight running event) which can lead to loss of force and soft tissue ailments. In this scenario running speed eventually slows and unless the athlete has spent time running at the slower speeds, running economy can be compromised, running gait can change, which places stress on different mechanics and now both physiology and biomechanics can be affected. The loss of running economy starts the downward spiral of requiring more energy and oxygen to perform movements which are becoming more inefficient that require more energy and oxygen. With the possible change in gait, through loss of force production the risk of injury is increased.

Secondly, changing the gait cycle from running to walking and back again may play a role in conserving force production, muscle contraction and neuromuscular fatigue. Even though from a gross motor perspective running and walking may look similar the muscle involvement and kinetic chains are different and the neuromuscular pathways differ – therefore switching between the 2 modes may assist in prolonging the overall performance at high intensities.

Thirdly and not to be understate is the psychological aspect of the strategy. By the pure nature of the run-walk strategy, the event is broken into small manageable “chunks” for the athlete. The variety of both modes allows the athlete to continually reset and this can greatly assist in maintaining motivation. Again, by the pure nature of the strategy athletes can feel like they are running at a “better” pace while performing a run-walk strategy then the possibly unmotivating “slower” pace and “slowing” pace which can be the result of a continuous run strategy.

These are just some of the “geeky” theories behind the run-walk strategy but what does it mean for you the athlete. Here are a few tips.

1. Discuss this with your coach well before the event. Like all skills to be able to perform a run- walk strategy it needs to be practiced in training under as many conditions as possible. The finer details of the intervals need to be discussed, are you running to a time strategy (most commonly 13.5 / 1.5min or 9min / 1min) or aid station to aid station or is it terrain based (hike the hills / run the flats and descents etc). Whatever it is - it needs to be practiced well before race day.
2. When you walk - walk with cadence and light feet. There can be a tendency to over dorsi flex the ankles, over extension of the toes and strike heavily on the heels during walking intervals which can lead to injury (Shin, knee and hip just to name the obvious). Focusing on cadence when walking can assist in reducing dorsi flexion and toe extension and walking with light feet can assist with bring the foot strike back under the hips more.
3. A run-walk strategy does not start when you can’t run any more and can only walk… Run-walk strategies need to be implemented from the start – it is the only way to get the benefits from the strategy. It takes discipline, courage and for you to lose your ego as you let competitors run past you at the start - just remember where the finish line is. Where you are placed in the first 5km of the run is irrelevant - it is where you are at the end that counts.

I hope this has given you some food for thought and given you options for strategies in upcoming event.
Like always “happy athletes are fast athletes – love the journey to living your potential”
 
Happy days
Lise​

“How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?” - Epictetus ​

​My world-beating race nutrition strategy & tips for Mooloolaba Triathlon race nutrition
 By Richard Thompson 

​Triathlon can be an incredibly complex sport with so many different elements affecting an athlete’s race-day performance. Elements such as preparation and managing injury spring to mind, amongst others.  
 
At T:Zero Multisport, we do everything possible to get you to the race in your best possible shape. But once you arrive at the start line, you can’t possibly get any fitter. Only three things can impact the outcome of the day for any athlete:

1. Pacing
2. Mindset
3. Nutrition

Whilst any of our coaches are more than happy to discuss pacing strategy and provide you with the tools to take your mindset and make it a weapon, it’s your race day nutrition that I want to focus on in this article.   
 
Nutrition is something we certainly hold dear to us at T:Zero Multisport. Head Coach and Co-Founder Scotty Farrell is a qualified nutritionist and I was so grateful to have him in my corner for the Ultraman World Championships, particularly when it came to developing a plan of attack for my race-day nutrition. Further, having such a wonderfully long-standing relationship with CLIF Bar Australia, it wasn’t difficult to find the right nutrition within their extensive range to suit the plan that Scotty had developed for me.  Indeed, their help enabled me to live my potential in Hawaii last November.
 
Fuelling during an Ultraman is different to a standard Olympic distance triathlon in that you have the opportunity to fuel during the swim with the assistance of an escort in a kayak paddling next to you and further, there is no run off either portion of the bike leg; the result being that you can afford to eat heavily in the backend of the ride knowing that you won’t be running until the Day 3 double marathon. For Ultraman, our fuelling plan was based on grams of carbohydrate per hour.
 
 
SWIM – DAY 1 (10km)
 
In the swim, our plan of attack was to hit roughly 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour. Following the adage that one should consume small amounts often as opposed to a large amount at once, I was aiming to fuel myself with 15 grams of carbohydrate every 15 minutes (versus having one big hit of 60 grams at the one-hour mark). There are obvious benefits to this, most notably not overloading the stomach when you want your blood to be directed to other parts of the body as opposed to your digestive system only.
 
Obviously, it’s pretty difficult to chew under water and I didn’t want to stop swimming completely so the Citrus CLIF Shot Energy Gel (with 25mg caffeine) was my go-to here. To prepare, I squeezed the required amount into a drink bottle and added water, shaking it up until it became one consistent liquid. I then marked the bottle, indicating where I’d need to drink to for each 15-minute increment. This had worked perfectly for Ultraman Australia where we broke the world record and again worked well in Hawaii at the World Championships.
 
BIKE – DAY 1 (145km)
 
Both Day 1 and Day 2 were very similar in that we were trying to hit 80 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Again, I was aiming to digest something every 5 to 10 minutes, following the principle that consuming carbohydrates when your body is working hard is a lot easier when they’re ingested in small increments as opposed to one large hit. 
 
I managed to execute my bike nutrition plan with precision on Day 1, consuming only the CLIF Bloks in Mountain Berry, Strawberry and Margarita (extra sodium boost) flavours, aiming to take-in 1.5 packets per hour (roughly).
 
Once I crossed the finish line on Day 1, I went straight into recovery on the wind trainer to ensure I cooled down effectively, not dissimilar to how professional cyclists warm down during the big cycling tours. I also immediately consumed both carbohydrates and protein in the form of CLIF Bar’s greatest flavour of all time – Chocolate Almond Fudge.
 
BIKE – DAY 2 (275km)
 
We always knew Day 2 on the bike was going to be a long day, and during the first half of the ride my heart rate and effort was going to be much more controlled than in the back half. Therefore, whilst we were trying to maintain 75 to 80 grams of carbohydrate per hour, we were happy to consume some more solid food in the first hour of the day. This constituted a combination of CLIF Bars and the ever-trusty vegemite sandwich. Once I began climbing up the volcano (a 40km climb), I diverted to my Day 1 method of 1.5 packets of CLIF Bloks per hour. This continued until the latter stages of the day, whereby – for a complete variation - I changed to a bottle of diluted CLIF Shot Energy Gels.
 
This strategy and well-paced nutrition plan not only allowed me to feel full of energy but also maximised my ability on the bike without having sluggish side-effects at any point in time.
In the final 40 kilometres of the bike leg, I managed to average 303 watts; and this was after 7.5 hours of hard riding. I attribute a lot of this to both a well-developed nutrition plan and high quality nutrition products that complemented it perfectly.     
 
RUN – DAY 3 (84.4km)
 
A much more difficult prospect came in the form of the double marathon run from Hawi to Kona (point to point) on Day 3. Again, the plan of attack was to hit 70 to 75 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Throughout the day I relied solely upon CLIF Bloks, moving to Coke only in the latter stages of the run.  
 
Often, it’s not until the run leg that we as athletes get “found-out” on a nutrition level. On the bike, it’s generally always too early to know whether or not you’ve paced your nutrition well. Too much nutrition and you’re going to feel bloated as you head off out of T2, but too little and you’re going to feel lightheaded and despondent.  Whenever I feel that my mind is turning negative on the run, my first thought is to my nutrition. In my experience, the mind turning against you is the first trigger that you may need more fuel and it’s a good reminder to ask yourself how well you’re fuelling at that current moment in time.
 
My race at the Ultraman World Championships was executed with precision by my entire team and we were thrilled to cross that finish line in first place, in such a great state. While I couldn’t walk properly for a few days following, at no point in the race did I feel like I had a carbohydrate deficit or surplus. We planned and implemented our nutrition strategy to perfection and I am so thankful to CLIF Bar Australia for helping me perform at my peak.
 
Nutrition Tips for Mooloolaba Triathlon   
 
Pre-Swim

• If you’re an athlete that requires something solid in their stomach before a swim, lean towards the CLIF Bars. The quantity of bar consumed will vary depending on what you’ve practiced in your training
• Most athletes swim in the morning in training so this is a great opportunity to test your nutrition plan that you want to implement within an hour of your swim start on race day  
• If you don’t like or need something solid in your stomach, go with a portion of a CLIF Shot Energy Gel or a couple of the CLIF Bloks to get extra carbohydrates in your system before the gun goes off

T1

• This is not a time for fuelling
• Focus on controlling your heart rate and intensity and ready yourself for the ride
• A sip of water here is all you need

 
Bike

• Implement the carbohydrates/hour that you want to aim for (anywhere between 60 and 80 carbohydrates per hour is your honey hole here) but give yourself 5 to 10 minutes of leeway at the start of the bike to get your legs used to the ride
• Similarly, back off the nutrition in the last 5 minutes before you head into the run
• Consume CLIF Bloks or CLIF Shot Energy Gels during this leg

 
T2

• Another great opportunity to control your heart rate and intensity
• Focus on the job at hand which is getting your running shoes on and yourself out onto the run course

 
Run

• This will be largely dependent upon how you fuel with your runs off the bike in training, but, especially at Mooloolaba, I like to hit some carbohydrates when I’m running down the hill the first time. It provides a perfect opportunity to lessen your intensity and consume some carbohydrates – remember – small portions more often is much better than large amounts infrequently
• Avoid taking in too many carbohydrates when running back up the hill (into town) but again – small amounts often. I suggest CLIF Shot Energy Gels. If you find they are too thick, throw a couple into a flask with some water and shake to dilute
• If you’re well-nourished leading to the last climb up the hill before the finish line, then you’ll have enough on board to get you to the end in one piece

 
As always, when it comes to nutrition the overall principle is: do not try anything new on race day. Practice makes perfect so keep testing your nutrition and honing your plan until you’re 100% confident it’s right for you; then you won’t go wrong. 
 
T:Zero Multisport wishes everyone all the best for their training. Stay safe, and have a wonderful race at Mooloolaba.