Author: Modern Athlete

With IRONMAN 70.3 and IRONMAN PE awaiting just aroud the proverbial corner, it’s time for the Modern Athlete DARE TO TRI Programme’s athletes to get serious in their training!

It’s just three months to go before most of you line up for the start of the Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa in Buffalo City, East London on 29 January 2017. This will be the 10th anniversary of what has become one of South Africa’s iconic sporting events, and the 70.3 distance is ideally suited for novice triathletes to step up to. That’s why each year sees close to 50% of the field being novices, and the amount of women doing the event has also increased.

What makes this event so special, and thus on all triathletes’ bucket lists, is a very tough bike route on a national highway with full road closure. The hilly bike course is one of the toughest on the 70.3 world circuit, but after the bike leg, athletes on the run get the most incredible crowd support, especially on the infamous Bunkers Hill, as well as in the finishing straight.

Then, it’s five months to go before some of you line up for the start of the Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth on 2 April 2017. This will be the 13th edition of the great race and the city of Port Elizabeth residents come out in their numbers to support this one. Recently, IRONMAN South Africa was voted the best race venue and best run experience in the world in the global IRONMAN Athlete Choice Awards, so you have something to look forward to!

DARE to TRI will once again be training for both these events, and we currently have 52 athletes signed up for the programme. Our record from 2016 proves that our programme works. In IRONMAN 70.3 we had 33 finishers and yet another 100% finisher rate, including 17 novices finishing their first 70.3. At IRONMAN South Africa, we had 15 finishers out of 16 starters, including 10 novices.

Sign up today!
Take note that November is your last chance to sign up for the 2016/2017 season. Join the Modern Athlete Dare to Tri Academy for just a R1265 once-off payment and you will receive expect coaching and group training from when you sign up till IRONMAN PE in April 2017. You cannot get this level of coaching, including coached weekend group training sessions, for this period of time at this cost anywhere else.
Go to https://daretotri.canbook.me/e/view/10091 and follow the prompts to register.

The success of the DARE TO TRI programme is that it is an affordable, manageable and sustainable training programme that fits in with your family, work and social commitments. The programme is designed to take complete novices to the ultimate triathlon finish of an IRONMAN event and this is done with a carefully planned gradual build-up.

The DARE TO TRI training works on the following basis:
• Each week (usually on Mondays) all members receive an e-mail detailing the week’s recommended training as well as the month ahead.
• The programme will have two training plans – one for novices and one for those who have already completed a half iron triathlon and are looking to improve their times.
• Weekday training is done by yourself or with a group/club that you may belong to.
• Weekend coached session will be presented by DARE TO TRI COACH Derick Marcisz and ALL athletes are encouraged to come along and train with the group.
• Specifically structured training is available if you require it – for example, you may need a beginner’s programme for one of the sports.

The weekend group training sessions will be as follows:
• RUN training on Saturday mornings from Jeppe Quondam, Bedfordview, Johannesburg.
• SWIM training on Saturday afternoons – open water swims at Homestead Dam, Benoni.
• BIKE training on Sunday mornings, either out in the Cradle or in the South of Joburg.

The DARE TO TRI ACADEMY will host the following specialised workshops:
• SWIM WORKSHOPS – one indoors and one outdoors, focussing on swim technique and open water swimming.
• BIKE WORKSHOP – basic bike maintenance.
• BIKE/RUN WORKSHOP – learn how to transition from bike to run.
• PRE-EVENT WORKSHOPS – covering everything you need to know about the event.

So sign up today. It’s time to Dare to Tri!

The phrase ’I am so tired’ is common in the vocabulary of many runners this time of year as they step up their training ahead of the big ultras. The early waking hours, increased weekly mileage and general muscle stiffness and soreness all add up to the exhaustion they feel, but many runners don’t realise that a simple change in eating habits can eliminate some of this fatigue.Next time you sit down for a meal, consider the following factors:

1.    Fuelling your engine adequately
Waking up early and increasing your training runs means limited time in the morning to prepare for the day. You don’t expect your car to go from Pretoria to Johannesburg on R5 worth of petrol, so how can you expect your body to power you through a three-hour run without the correct fuel? Without fuelling up, you won’t get through a run, let alone the rest of your day. Many of us skip breakfast, go hours without eating until we are absolutely starving and then gobble down a double helping of convenient, often non-nutritious food. Or we get so busy that we forget about eating altogether and rely on caffeinated drinks to power us through the day. These habits lead to fatigue and body breakdown.

2.    Eating regularly
In some individuals, failure to eat can cause precipitous drops in blood sugar that can cause flagging energy. Eating three meals a day regularly, with healthy snacks such as fresh fruit and nuts in between, will ensure a ready supply of fuel.

3.    Loading up on caffeine
While caffeine can lift your energy, what goes up must come down. Regular users of caffeine may suffer from problems associated with caffeine withdrawal, notably fatigue. And take note of hidden caffeine in tea, chocolate, fizzy drinks, diet fizzy drinks, fat burners and energy supplements.

4.    Getting enough vitamins and minerals
A balanced diet with plenty of nutritious fruits, vegetables and whole grains will supply vital vitamins, minerals and antioxidants needed daily. When it comes to fatigue, lack of iron and the group of B vitamins can often be the culprit.

•    Iron is an essential blood-building nutrient that is required to prevent anaemia. However, even in the absence of anaemia, low iron levels can cause fatigue and low mood. The best blood test to determine iron level is the ferritin level test (the accuracy of the haemoglobin test can be thrown off by a runner’s greater blood volume). You might want to talk to your doctor about getting your ferritin level checked if you think you’re a prime candidate for low iron. Higher risk individuals include women with heavy menstrual cycles, people with gastric bleeding or those on many prescription medications, runners with eating disorders or those who simply have a bad diet. Your diet should include lean meats and/or vegetarian sources of iron, such as whole grains, dried fruits, deep green vegetables and foods fortified with iron. Eat a vitamin C source (tomatoes, strawberries and citrus) with any non-meat iron sources to enhance the iron absorption. Only take an iron supplement with a doctor’s recommendation as there are risks associated with them.
•    B vitamins drive energy production, so the lack of them can contribute to training fatigue. A variety of foods provide B vitamins, including great carb-containing foods like whole grains and low-fat dairy. A multivitamin/mineral supplement typically provides enough extra B vitamins for a runner, so you don’t need to take separate forms of the Bs to combat fatigue. Vitamin B12 or complex injections can only benefit individuals with a deficit, but vitamin B12 may be harmful if taken too often, or may mask other problems.

5.    Eating the best and right amount of carbohydrates
We should all be consuming about 50-60% of our diets as carbs. Many of us eat less than this, hoping to lose some weight and this can be detrimental to runners. Carbs fuel muscles and help with muscle recovery. Depending on your training and body weight, make sure to include one/two servings of healthy carbs per meal. Try slower energy release carbs throughout the day (low-GI carbs e.g. sweet potato, basmati rice, whole oats, oat bran, seed bread, Ryvita) and only ingest quick energy releasing ones around or during training (high-GI carbs e.g. litchi juice, rice cakes, white bread, energy drinks, gels, energy bars, gums).

6.    Starting your recovery quickly enough
You should eat or drink a recovery beverage or snack soon after your longer runs. Remember that you get the greatest refuelling benefit if you consume some form of carbohydrate and protein (e.g. low-fat smoothie) within 30 minutes of a run. The longer you wait, the less benefit.

7.    Staying hydrated
Every 1% loss in body weight through dehydration reduces your running performance. Dehydration is not only dangerous due to the increase in body temperature, but it is also an unnecessary cause of training fatigue (linked to changes in blood volume). Stay hydrated all week; it is easier to keep up with hydration than to play catch up.

8.    Rest is best!
Most athletes’ fatigue is mainly due to overtraining and not enough rest. No matter how good your nutrition is, if you don’t get enough rest you will never combat fatigue!
 

In August the prize-giving of the 1000km Challenge for 2015-2016 took place in Cape Town, with Hettie Fourie winning the Lady of the Challenge award with 4006km of mileage in official events, and husband Gerhard Fourie placing second in the men’s category with 4445km. What makes these totals all the more impressive is they did it all by walking, which means they couldn’t do many of the marathons and ultras on the calendar. – BY RACHEL PIENAAR

In order to amass these incredible totals, the couple from Stillbaai in the Southern Cape travelled all over the country for races, often being away from home for up to three weeks at a time, or just touching base for a few days before heading off to other parts of the country for various events. This saw them visiting more than 50 cities or towns in the year, and lining up at the back of the pack in events ranging from marathons and multi-day circuit races, to any shorter distance race they could find that fit into their travel schedule, including trail events, fun runs and parkruns.

When asked what motivates them to do so much travelling and racing, Hettie says “It’s being in nature and the camaraderie you get and the friendships you make. It’s a combination of so many things.” Gerhard adds, “Some of the highlights for me are the people you meet and the places you go to, because it gives you the opportunity to do races in different places and do something different.”

ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE
The Johnny Kambouris Memorial 1000km Challenge was run for the first time in 1990. It was started by Jenny Kambouris in memory of her late husband, Johnny, who died tragically in a motor vehicle accident in 1989. Jenny married Paul Selby in 1996 and together they kept the challenge going for 20 years, challenging runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes to complete 500km or 1000km in road or trail events, from the day after the Comrades Marathon to the following year’s Comrades (although doing the Comrades itself is not compulsory).

Today the 1000km Challenge offers special incentive medals, trophies, distance badges and permanent numbers for the more competitive athletes, but for most it is about the camaraderie and motivation of taking on the challenge. And as you can see from Gerhard and Hettie’s final tallies for the 2015-2016 Challenge, some athletes really do go the extra mile for this competition!

It was an injury that inspired Gerhard to sign up for the 1000km challenge for the first time in the late 90s. “Initially the concept was very interesting to me and I did it because of a knee injury, to motivate me to get going again,” he says. A few years later in 2004, when the kids were all grown up, Hettie joined him and they have been walking together in nearly every race since then, and normally finishing together as well. “There are one or two races that he breaks away in the last kilometre, but most of the times we are shoulder to shoulder all the way,” says Hettie.

The added challenge for Hettie is making the cut-offs in longer races, which means that she needs to do all the shorter races to still amass such a huge total of mileage. “Gerhard walks the marathons, because I haven’t made the cut-off times as yet, but I take part in the half marathons and circuit races as well.” She says that they aim to walk below three hours in the half marathons, while Gerhard aims to walk a sub-six in full marathons.

HIGHS AND LOWS
In between all the travelling and walking, Gerhard works as a technical specialist at a bank and Hettie is a home executive. To date, they have racked up over 25,000km and 15,000km in racing mileage respectively, and have experienced many ups and downs along the way. Gerhard says one of the highlights of the past year’s Challenge was taking part in the Capital Classic six-day circuit race in Pietermaritzburg, in September last year. He completed 332km and Hettie did 305km. “It was a good race. The days went very well and straight after that we came through for the Cape Town Festival of Running 50km. That was probably one of the best memories, because it was a good week,” he says.

Of course, it is inevitable that sometimes things don’t quite go to plan: “I had a bad experience at the Soweto Marathon last year, because I had a difficult day and missed the cut-off, but it happens sometimes,” he says. He admits that it has also become a bit of a ‘healthy addiction’ for them: “It is a motivation to get up in the morning and do the races instead of sleeping in… I realise, in a way, the races can become addictive, because you get withdrawal symptoms if you can’t go and do a race!”

The tendency is to think that running is something everyone does naturally, and that we should first learn to run slow and then get faster, but is that the truth? – BY NORRIE WILLIAMSON

Generally we first learn to run by accident around 18 months of age. Having managed to get onto two legs, we start ‘tottering’ forwards, from table (or Granddad) to the safety of some other piece of furniture. It’s all about balance and getting to grips with our centre of gravity. Too much backward lean sees kids planting their bum on the floor; too much forward lean has them giggling in a rush of feet towards some point of safety, or sprawling on all fours.

Kids master the run with short efforts repeated many times. They go a few metres at a time, using relatively fast speeds, interspersed with walks, stops or falls, and then they’re off again. At school this process is typically extended on a field that is no longer than 100m long and 50m wide. Runs are rarely longer than 60m and in matches, typically only 5m to 20m, so acceleration is key instead of endurance. And acceleration comes from leaning forward, with short fast strides, landing on the ball of the foot, and driving backwards.

Take the Brakes Off

Similarly, appreciation of the centre of gravity compared to the foot position is the essence of distance running: With the centre ahead of the landing foot, we ‘fall’ into a run with the ball of the foot as the initial point of contact. With the centre behind the landing foot, we are forced into ‘sitting back,’ or braking our movement. Because speed is the focus at school level, once momentum has been achieved, many teachers (mistakenly) tell kids to stretch their stride by throwing the foot further forward. But every time a foot hits the ground ahead of the centre of gravity, there is a ‘braking’ action, unless there is sufficient momentum to carry the body over the centre of gravity.

In reality it takes 20-30 metres to accelerate to top speed, so only sprinters over short distances ever truly benefit from planting their foot forward – and they use spikes to pull back against the ground. So, running for any extended distance is about allowing the foot to land directly under the centre of gravity (or just very slightly in front), on the ball of the foot.

Also, it is counter-productive to use rigid shoes for an economic running style, unless we are running so slowly that we are almost walking. This ‘jogging’ action was developed in the early running boom of the 1970’s to cater for the mass portion of the community. Jogging is a heel-toe action that is encouraged by shoes where the heel is at least 12 mm higher than the forefoot. The cushioning is in the heel to counter the jarring from the braking action of landing ahead of the centre of gravity. A further challenge of jogging and heel-landing is that the whole foot is involved in the movement from heel to toe, whereas when landing on the ball of the foot, the impact of the heel is almost negligible and considerably shorter in time, allowing a reduction in the control measures required in the shoes.

The Right Shoes

However, joggers account for about 10% of the population of the USA – around 29 million people – whereas it is estimated that there are only 400,000 runners who run under five hours in a marathon in the USA, so no surprise which market the shoe industry designs most shoes for. This explains why so many people are in the wrong shoes for running (correct for jogging) and why the natural running style we learn as kids is forced out of us by the shoes we wear. Every running shoe manufacturer has good running models, and good jogging models. The challenge is to ensure that your shoes work towards your running objectives… which is why lightweight, low-heeled, flexible shoes continue to be the choice of most elite runners.

So, if we want to practise style and form, we must repeat it many times over short distances of 20m to 40m, focusing on the techniques and skills of a good running style. One to two form sessions a week and the correct shoes can revolutionise the running ability of any person who wants to run under 60 minutes for 10km, or five hours for a marathon. All you need to do is get back to basics.

Norrie is a civil engineer and originally from Scotland. He represented Scotland and Great Britain in numerous ultra-distance events and championships, then emigrated and represented South Africa in triathlon. He is an IAAF-accredited coach and course measurer and is the official Old Mutual Virtual Coach. He coached or managed various Scottish, British and South African teams to World Championships in running and triathlon, has authored two books (Everymans Guide to Distance Running and Every Beginners Guide to Walking & Running), and counts 21 Comrades medals amongst his more than 150 ultra-marathon medals. More info at www.coachnorrie.co.za.

It’s been quite a year for elite road and trail runner Eric Ngubane. He can look back on a win in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Trail Run, and a fourth win in the Mont-Aux-Sources 50km trail event, and second place in the SA Ultra Trail Championships in Cape Town in July, which earned him selection for the IAU World Ultra Trail Championships in October. Sadly, he and his team mates never made it to Portugal, because ASA withdrew permission for the team to compete due to the disputed status of trail running within the national structures of the sport, but his motivation to chase more racing honours is stronger than ever. – BY RACHEL PIENAAR.

Eric first heard the news that he was no longer going to Portugal for the World Ultra Trail Champs via a team Whatsapp group, and it was later confirmed on social media. “Our manager did send a message to the group informing us, but I only really figured out what was going on when I saw a Facebook post saying that ASA hadn’t given us permission to compete,” says Eric. “I can’t find the right words to express my disappointment. When you’ve trained so hard for something, it is always sad when you don’t get the chance to compete.” However, in spite of his disappointment, the KZN-based athlete says he is going to remain positive about the sport and hopes to get another opportunity in the future to represent South Africa on the world stage.

RUNNING MENTOR
Eric first took up running in school, thanks to the encouragement of his teacher, Xolani Cele, who had spotted the youngster’s obvious running talent. Growing up on a farm in Cato Ridge, between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, Eric had to run around tending to the family’s cattle, even in the rain, so running had always been part of his daily life, and at school he showed great promise in cross country, winning most of the races that he entered.

“While I was growing up, I played a lot of soccer, but Mr Cele kept nagging me, saying forget about the soccer, just do the cross country,” says Eric. “He would drive up to 40km to take me to the cross country events to compete.” Eventually, the perseverance of his teacher coupled with the thrill of winning most of the races he entered, sparked a passion for running in Eric that still burns intently today, and has helped him carve a name for himself in the sport. “I’ll never forget how Mr Cele helped me,” says Eric.

THE BUSY ATHLETE
These days Eric finds himself working at the Sports Zone Running Company store in Durban North to support his family and his parents. He says he’s on his feet all day, but still manages to balance work with family and his passion for running. A typical day for Eric begins at 2:30am with a 20km run before he heads off to work. Thereafter he runs another 20km in order to get home to his family. Despite this demanding schedule, Eric still manages to spend as much time with his family as possible. He loves to play with his children and relax with his partner, and then spends much of the rest of his free time researching and studying techniques and training tips.

He says he has never had any professional coaching, and instead has developed his own training schedule and diet plan, built around his racing schedule. “Sacrifice is not easy. You have to discipline yourself, but I just love running! When you’re talking about running, you’re talking about me, and I always try my best in every race,” says Eric, adding that his family are very supportive of his running. “When I am disappointed, my family encourages me to get up, try again and train even harder for the next competition.”

Besides his love of running, another thing that inspires Eric to do well in the sport is his passion for his home community in Cato Ridge. He says he wants to inspire the young people with his achievements, in order to get them to reach for their dreams and to never give up. “I’d like to take it back to the community… Because I know there are a lot of kids that have the ability to produce good results. Success shouldn’t just be about you, it’s for who comes after you, how you can help and inspire the next generation, so you have to give it back to the community.”

CARVING A NICHE IN TRAIL
Eric’s love for running extends to both road and trail, so he trains on both, with most of his off-road training done on dirt roads and amongst the sugar cane fields near his home. On the road, some of his most notable achievements include clocking a marathon best of 2:31:04 in 2013, winning the Wings for Life World Run South Africa in 2015, covering 68.86km before the catcher car caught him, and finishing the Comrades 11 times, with a best of 5:50:29 in 2012 for his second Wally Hayward medal. This highly prestigious medal is awarded to athletes that clock a sub-six-hour time but finish outside the top 10 gold medal positions. Having come so close to the golds at Comrades, it is no surprise that Eric says he has unfinished business there: “I want to start training early this year to build up for the Comrades Marathon next year, because I know I can win it!”

However, it is in trail running where Eric is really making a name for himself. He has won the Three Cranes 100km Stage Race three times, posted wins at the Ultra Trail Cape Town 100km, Mount Moodie 80km Ultra Trail and the Old Mutual Two Oceans 22km Trail Run, to go with his four wins at Mont-Aux-Sources and various other trail events. That saw him being selected last year as part of the Trail South Africa Development Team that competed in the 76km Grand Raid Le Templiers in France. Although the race didn’t go as he had hoped, as he was plagued by fatigue, he came away with valuable experience of international trail running, and looked set to put that experience to use at the World Champs this month, until ASA’s decision not to send the team. As he says, “You have to motivate yourself through the tough moments in a race, you must be mentally prepared.”

SEEKING NEW CHALLENGES
In spite of the disappointing news, Eric remains positive, saying that although he trained hard for World Champs, he is always hungry for the next challenge and wants to do his best in every race. “I still look forward to representing my country in the future. I will carry on training, and you have to keep your standard high and keep the motivation going, because opportunities come and go and you must be prepared for them.”

Eric says he loves to read about other athletes and draws inspiration from them, but his greatest inspiration is former Comrades winner and Nedbank Running Club National Manager, Nick Bester, who has been helping him to improve his training since he joined the Nedbank club in 2014. “If you look at Nick’s background, he was a very determined runner, one of the guys who was always looking for a challenge, always part of the leading bunch in a race. That is what I admire about him, he is like a headlamp for me, highlighting where I want to go with my career.”