A lot of people ask me what equipment I use
for training and racing; what I eat before, during, and after training and
racing; what gear do I wear while putting myself through these incredibly long
days of training and racing. Well, I figure I’d throw together my collection of
goodies that kept me going through camp. Let’s break it down a bit:
BIKE
The first notable difference this season is
my rig. Björn Ossenbrink and Darcy Reno of Multisport Science Inc have set me
up on the Teschner 703Aero (their TT frame,) with a set of Pro Missile
aerobars, Rotor Q-Rings, and the Power2Max crank based power meter (to measure
my power output in watts.) I’m riding the same saddle that I’ve grown to love
(more so my nether regions have given their stamp of approval than anything,)
the Cobbs V-Flow Plus. I tell you, when you start to log some massive mileage,
having a good saddle can make or break you (literally.) They set me up with an
11-25 rear cassette, that makes descending and tail-winds a whole gear more fun
(when you can go over 70km/hr and still have gear to spin, it’s pretty sweet!)
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| The climbing front hydration setup |
I use two types of front hydration systems:
the first (and primary) is the TorHans Aero30 (and sometimes the Aero20, which
is 10oz smaller); the second is a stem/aerobar horizontally mounted bottle
cage, (becoming the norm in the triathlon community,) which I prefer when I
will be spending the day climbing (such as Mt Lemmon.) On the rear of the
saddle, I have an old X-Lab carbon wing setup, with a new ‘Gorilla’ bottle cage
(designed for rear-mount hydration.) I used to launch a lot of bottles with my
rear-mounted cages, but since switching to the Gorilla I haven’t lost a single bottle
(knock on wood!) Tucson has some rather aggressively rough roads, the kind that
makes you curse out loud as they smash your brain into the fetal position. It’s a
rocket-launcher testing ground, good as any.
You can get them at Speed Theory Vancouver. My primary frame-cage bottle is a 1L Powerbar bottle (that I imported from Germany.) I imported a whole bunch, so if you're interested in contact me for details.
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| My rear hydration: X-Lab Carbon Wing and Gorilla Cage |
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| The TorHans Aero30 and my 1L Powerbar Bottle Total liquid on board= 2.75L |
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| The Full Deal. Rider not included (you must supply your own) |
My new kit of choice is the Champion System
cycling kit. They make fully customizable kits (everything from running,
cycling, and triathlon, to rugby, Nordic, and wrestling,) with designers that
are absolutely incredible and easy to work with. Kind of like a point-and-shoot
system. Even if you are having designers-block, they have a really easy ‘Design
Lab’ that can get you started. Not only is the gear custom designed, but
comfortable as anything I’ve used. When you’re putting in hundreds of km’s a
week in the saddle, you need something that is durable and exceptionally
comfortable. Plus, it’s absolutely IMPERATIVE that your jersey pocket can fit
giant cookies. Champion System does that to a T.
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| The necessary 'Giant Cookie Sized' rear pockets |
RUN
I’ve been working with Dave Cressmen, owner
of Distance Runwear in Vancouver, for a few months now. He’s gotten me in the
Inov-8 line of shoes, (a fairly minimalistic approach to footwear,) and I’ve
been enjoying transitioning into them (as some have discovered the hard way,
you need to SLOWLY transition to a minimalist shoe.) I’ve been steadily
increasing the duration and intensity of my training in them, and it’s been
going very smooth as of thus far.
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| Testing the CS two-piece tri suit |
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| Compressport saving me AGAIN |
RECOVERY
Some people may know this about me, but I’m
a HUGE advocate of stretching, rolling, ‘sticking’ (and no, not THAT sticking,)
balling (more to do with laying on a lacrosse ball, less to do with wearing
backwards ballcaps, baggy jeans that are hanging on for dear life, and enough
‘bling’ to have people questioning the stores under Fort Knox,) and basically
anything that includes flushing toxins and metabolic waste out of muscles,
increasing blood flow to the muscles, and lengthening muscles to increase
performance and decrease chance of injury. So what do I use? At camp, I engaged
in daily combat with the large foam roller and myriad of ‘Stick’ instruments we
had laying around (“combat” you ask? After a few consecutive weeks of over
35hrs training, it feels like someone is attacking you with crowbars when you
try to stick or roll.) I generally would wake up and try to get a light roll in
first thing: this gets blood flowing first thing and prepares you for training.
At home I use the Grid roller by TP Therapies, I find it to be the most
effective for me. Post-training, I always try to use ‘The Stick’ within
10minutes of finishing a session, get a roll in within an hour, and do some
form of stretching within that same hour. The immediate sticking (or sometimes
immediate rolling) flushes the metabolic waste out pronto, replacing it with
fresh blood & oxygen, which helps with faster recovery for the next
session. Trying to get a stretch in fairly quickly after a session is the most
effective, as the muscles are still warm and will be more receptive to a good
stretch than when cold.
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| Double layering for travel |
I usually try to get my Compressport gear
on asap after training, the Full-Leg being my first choice. They help to
increase blood flow and prevent pooling in the legs (which is AWESOME if you’re
not able to get off your feet after training!) After some massive training
days, I’ve been known to sleep in my full-socks, which I personally find makes
me feel a bit fresher in the morning. I always travel in full compression, as the
rigors of long drives and flights can wreak havoc on the legs. When traveling
to Abu Dhabi for a big triathlon earlier this year (which included 26 HOURS of
travel,) I wore the double layer compression I mentioned above, and my legs
felt fantastic post-travel.
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| The Grid Roller |
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| The Stick(s) |
NUTRITION
Well, as you may have guessed, I packed
away more Powerbars, Powerbar Energy Blasts, gels, and PERFORM this camp than I
can possibly remember. My drink of choice is about 100cals of PERFORM per 24oz
bottle, depending on the heat. Sometimes I’ll add up to 150cals per bottle, if
it’s really hot. I plug away at various gels and bars, sometime bringing
banana, PB/almond butter, honey sandwiches along for the trip. I also like to
pack around a banana, they’re good when you’re feeling like some real solid
food and need some extra potassium. I usually aim for 200-300 calories/hr while
riding, but this varies heavily upon the duration of the ride, how many sessions
that particular day included, and what on earth I ate before the ride (for
instance: that epic 240km ride I did at camp, I only took two sips of water and
no calories in for the first 2hrs, as I had eaten such a massive breakfast
right before the ride.)
Post training, I make a point (and always
have) to get a recovery shake or food in me WITHIN 20 MINUTES! They say the
glycogen ‘window of opportunity’ is 30 minutes, but I aim for 10-20 minutes.
Sometimes I even have it ready and just CRUSH it (as teammate Elliot Holtham
says, “you gotta crush it like a beer!”) This will usually include Powerbar
Protein Plus powder, with either nut milk or water, blended with some kind of
frozen fruit (generally bananas and/or blueberries.) If I am finishing a ride
somewhere OTHER than near a blender, I will just mix the Protein Plus with
water and then eat a banana along with it, or eat a Powerbar Protein Plus Bar
(I am a MASSIVE fan of the new bars, they are a LOT less heftier than their
predecessor, and taste like some kind of dessert/cake!) I’ve crushed more than
one Powerbar Protein Plus Bar after a hard workout or race (at the Abu Dhabi
International Triathlon in March, there was NO FOOD at the end, so I demolished
3 Protein Plus Cookies’n’Cream bars immediately after. Like a treat for
actually finishing!)
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| The food freestyling. Food in = power out. |
I’d have to say if there’s one thing I
learned at camp, it’s how to eat. Jesse and Amy eat like champs, and it was all
I could do to try and keep up with them! I tried to make sure I got a lot of
fruits and veggies in (veggies mostly later in the day, as I don’t like to feel
too full on roughage while I’m training,) but always started the day with a
huge breakfast (as I would generally just graze throughout the rest of the day
until dinner.) That usually included berry, banana, protein smoothies; toast
with either eggs and some sautéed spinach or banana and PB; oatmeal; fresh
fruits; cereal; or some combination of the above (on more than one occasion I
took down all of this!) Oh, and can’t forget that lovely cup of happiness that
is morning coffee. I do love a good cup of fresh hot coffee in the morning.
I figured out that if I ate my weight every
day during camp (which I normally wouldn’t suggest unless your training load is
high,) I was able to recover very well day-after-day. Jesse and Amy taught me a
way of eating that I like to refer to as ‘Freestyle Grazing.’ It pretty much
involves standing in the kitchen, randomly pulling things out of the fridge or
cupboards, and eating different combinations of food until you feel satiated.
It’s a fun way to go about it, really. I just made sure that 85-90% of my food
intake was healthy whole foods (the other 10-15% being energy gels, bars,
drinks, and desserts.) Also, treating yourself to dessert wasn’t really a bad
thing (or, as I discovered with the gastronomically-gifted duo, dessert #2, 3
and sometimes 4!) Now THAT’S living life in the fast lane.
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| Took my CS kit to the gun show. |
These are pretty much the things that got
me through camp. That, plus a LOT of rolling, stretching, and shooting for
8-9hrs of sleep a night, kept me going strong the whole way. Hopefully you’ve
gained some smidgen of insight that can be helpful from this.
Happy Training, be safe out there!
Nathan
