The warm afternoons are disappearing, and I lament the end of summer ice cream and a beer on the patio. Aw, just one more before it's winter. There is a chill in the air, and I dash into the coffee shop and warm up with a grande latte...oh, and bran muffin...I only meant to eat half. I am off to the lunch room, and my salad looks cold and unsatisfying. With nose to the grindstone this fall, I feel I deserve a hot bowl of chilli and a warm scone with butter. I would drink that water, but it'll make me cold. Ah, another coffee won't hurt...it might even wake me up! I undo my belt buckle one notch. Strange. I'm still exercising and eating well....well mostly. Ok, so the pool is closed, and spin classes start next week, and our weekends have a little busy with visitors. I am witnessing the Perfect Storm for fall weight gain. Time to turn it around, and make fall work for me. Here are a few tips!

The Breakfast Ritual
Get your day started with veggies and protein. It takes exactly 10 minutes to whip up this stir fry for brekkie. Throw on eggs for more protein if you like that. If you make a double batch, lunch is already made! For fast food style curry, simply put a can of coconut milk in a jug, add 2 tablespoons of Thai Red Curry paste and a splash of fish sauce and soy sauce. When you have served out your breakfast veggies, pour this on the top and let it heat through, and lunch is all made!

Illustration by Andy Mora
Most road cyclists are just a turn of the screw away from a new tri bike.

In the sport of triathlon it is easy to get caught up with the latest bike trends. Many purchase tri bikes just because their friends have one. The fact is, to get into a perfect tri position you don’t necessarily have to be on a tri bike. Your perfect tri position conforms to three points in space: hands, pelvis, and feet. The way these three points are oriented for your optimal position is specific to you, not the bike you are riding. It’s about the bike conforming to your body rather than your body conforming to the bike. To get into a good tri position on your road bike is easy. Of course, getting your bike into a tri position starts with proper road position.

Step One: Aligning the EngineResearch shows that, compared to road position, the tri position should be slightly more forward over the pedal axle. An ideal road position should have the muscular stress evenly balanced between your glutes and your quads. A tri position will shift that delicate balance forward. Consequently, your quads will bear slightly more load and your glutes less. The research has shown that shifting forward helps triathletes adapt to the run more easily. The question is, how much do you move your seat forward on the rails? This varies from one athlete to another, but generally the move is no less then one centimetre and no more than three centimetres. A word of caution: moving too far forward will only make you slower and less powerful.

See this on our forum...
I've had an interesting couple of weeks of running. I have been running really comfortably in my New Balance MT101s. They are a cross-country minimalist shoe, so no gradient from heel to toe, and very little cushioning. Over the last year, I've run mostly in the trails with these shoes, but now that I'm preparing for an ultra distance run that includes cobblestone and rock, I've begun running on the road with these also.
Well, I got a little nervous a month ago, that I could not sustain the very long distance in these minimalist shoes. I started researching every shoe on the market, looking for something with a very flexible sole to match what I'm running in, but with more squish. NB is coming out with one late March, but that is too close to my race date. In the meantime, I bought a Brooks Pure Flow. They feel like slippers, and the sole is really bendy. I've done two three longer runs in them, and the knee pain raised it's ugly head. I've blamed it on skiing, weight in my pack, inconsistent downhill running, knee alignment in my cycling cleats. During my latest run, it was really obvious that it was MUCH more work running in these shoes than my NB 101s. I can feel my feet fighting for balance on the landing, and having to move through a greater range for push off. I can feel myself heel planting, despite my best efforts, and then the squish allows my heel to go lower than my toes, so adding stretch to the achilles.
Today I did a recover run on the treadmill in my good old NB 101s, that I've been running in for a couple of years. My knees felt GREAT. So yes, I'm still a little nervous about running really far over cobblestones without much under my feet, but I can see that the squishy shoe is not my answer.
My observations fit really well with the article below.
Ginny

Many are still unaware that static or passive stretching prior to a sport performance has more disadvantages than advantages, especially for sports that performance depends on strength, power, speed, and endurance.  Studies in the exercise science field show more and more that static stretching is likely an inappropriate warm up for many sports.
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I asked Cory what he thought about his first year using a SpiroTiger.  This is what he had to say:

After some speculation I started using a Spirotiger last June during race season as suggested by Luke Way at Balance Point Racing.  I used it 1-2 times a week for about 20 minutes.  I noticed improvements on the spirotiger but it was hard to judge on the bike.  I was curious though to see what it could do if I used it regularly.

Here is a great way to think about making nutritious  shakes from Precision Nutrition.

Ok, so let’s assume you’ve got your blender out and it’s powerful enough to do the job.  Now you can follow the step by step guide below for creating nutritious and tasty Super Shakes.

Keep in mind, not all of the steps below are mandatory.  If you don’t want any fruit, leave it out.  If you are using almond milk and don’t want to add extra nuts, leave them out.  (Of course, if you’re looking to control your calories, carbs, or fats, use smaller portion sizes or cut out certain ingredients.) You get the idea.