More Philip Graves...

Check out this great interview with good friend of Skinfit UK, Philip Graves, Ironman's youngest-ever winner: http://www.imtalk.me/Podcast.html

More success for friend of the Skinfit UK family

A good friend of the Skinfit UK family, Philip Graves, recently became the youngest-ever winner of an Ironman race when he won Ironman UK in his debut race at the iron-distance.

Skinfit UK would like to congratulate Philip on his great results and look forward to seeing him to him on the race podium many more times.

Here is a great interview with Philip, courtesy of slowtwitch.com.

Ironman fascination

By Asker Jeukendrup

Over the last few weeks I have watched many competitors finish in Ironman Germany and Ironman Switzerland. Both races were held in wonderful weather conditions and with great atmosphere. I have completed 16 Ironman races so far but these were the first two I have watched from the sideline. Ironman is a fascinating sport! Athletes of all levels participate and set out to break their own personal records or to simply make it to the finish line before the cut off. The journey is quite remarkable, often painful, often emotional, each athlete goes through many ups & downs during the race and crossing of the finish line is unlike any other event. The expression on people's faces tell a great story: it varies from extreme relief that it is over, to incredible satisfaction and pride. Some people cross the finish line and immediately state they will never ever do this again! Others will quite happily sign up for the next event as soon as they have crossed the finish line. The one thing these people have in common is the next day they all want to sign up for the next year.

For many people completing an Ironman is a life changing event and the emotions that go with that are obvious when you watch people finish. There are a few things about Ironman that are unique and that make it very special.

Firstly, it is a sport for all people: it is as busy at the finish line when the first guys finish in little over 8 hours as when the last athletes come in at midnight!

Secondly, Ironman is a lifestyle, it is not just a sport. In order to complete the event people have to make changes to their lifestyle and most of us have to fit in many hours of training with work or school and family. Ironman training also makes people aware of healthy living and nutrition (which is my main interest as a sports nutritionist and Professor of Exercise Metabolism at the University of Birmingham).

I will be writing a few blogs about nutrition and preparation for triathlons in the next few months, hoping that this will help others to achieve their personal goals. I find Ironman fascinating because so many factors determine performance on the day. For the perfect race, everything has to be right from preparation, to nutrition, to equipment, to psychology and it is an incredible challenge to get everything right on the day. Although I have often been called a leading sports nutritionist or world expert, there have been plenty of races where my race nutrition did not work 100% and my search for the perfect race continues.

I have been supported by Skinfit for several years now and apart from the fact that I am extremely happy with the quality of the garments, I also think that Skinfit as a brand really embraces everything that Ironman stands for.

In October I will be competing at Ironman Hawaii for the fourth time, I will be reporting on my preparation, i will posting nutrition information here and on my website www.askerjeukendrup.com and I hope the information will inspire and help you in your preparation for the events you are preparing for.

Asker Jeukendrup is Professor of Exercise Metabolism, Director of the Human Performance lab, Exercise Metabolism Research Group, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham.

Nutrition is the fourth discipline of triathlon

By Asker Jeukendrup

A good diet is for everyone. A good diet and an active lifestyle will help to prevent may of the modern diseases like obesity, type ll diabetes, cardiovascular diseases etc. In fact poor diet and physical inactivity are currently ranked as the number 1 killer, ahead of smoking!

For elite athletes there is another reason to pay attention to the diet. Diet can also affect performance and sometimes can even mean the difference between winning and becoming last.

I don't think athletes always appreciate the importance of nutrition. Elite athletes spend hours and hours training, the efforts they put into their training are quite remarkable. It is then amazing to see that the diet often receives less attention. What you eat before, during and after training will determine how well your body adapts and thus improves from that training session. It is therefore important to give nutrition as much attention as training!

What do we mean by good nutrition? This is a tricky question and the answer may depend on the goal. Good nutrition will be different for a shot-putter than for an ultra marathon runer and will be different if your goal is sprint triathlon or completing an Ironman. It will be different for someone who does not train and someone who trains 2 hours per day. The requirements of different sports and disciplines can vary quite significantly. There are a few common themes though.

Carbohydrate to fuel training

All training will require energy and this energy has to be provided. The two main fuels for exercise are fat and carbohydrate. Carbohydrate is the fuel of choice and since we can only store relatively small amounts of carbohydrate in our bodies, carbohydrate should be a large component of every athlete's diet. Good sources of carbohydrate are potato, bread, rice, pasta etc. It is often recommended for athletes to have a relatively low fat, high carbohydrate diet. Fat sources such as butter, mayonnaise, which contain quite a bit of energy could be replaced with carbohydrate sources.

A balanced diet

A diet has to be balanced which means it has to be varied to provide all nutrients in sufficient quantities. Eating just pasta would result in a deficiency of various micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). To provide a balanced diet, we should consume sufficient amounts of fruit and vegetables, eat whole grain products and other fibre containing foods, eat meat or fish (although meat could be replaced with carefully chosen protein sources).

Hydration

There is evidence that dehydration (a loss of body water) can impair performance. Athletes are therefore recommended to drink regularly and make sure they are always hydrated. One way to check hydration status is by looking at the colour of urine. A light colour usually means you are well hydrated, a darker colour means you are dehydrated. Sports drinks are developed to replenish water as quickly as possible and they provide a source of carbohydrate as well. These drinks are important for endurance athletes who exercise for many hours, and it is even more important if the exercise is performed in hot conditions. The average person who goes to the gym, could suffice with drinks that contain less carbohydrate or even no carbohydrate.

Recovery

Nutrition plays an important role in recovery. After exercise energy stores have to be replenished, lost fluid has to be replaced and damage (muscle damage) has to be repaired. We need carbohydrate, water and protein for this. When athletes are training hard on a daily basis which for most elite athletes is the case, the choice of food and the timing will determine how quickly they recover and how well they adapt. Nutrition can also help to prevent injuries by speeding up repair of damaged tissues.

Immune system

Strenuous training may suppress the immune system and this may be the reason why anecdotally athletes who are training hard are reporting more colds. Nutrition can help boost the immune system and especially carbohydrate intake during longer training sessions has been shown to reduce the suppression of the immune system.

Sports nutrition myths

There are many myths in sports nutrition. In the sixties athletes were advised to eat a large steak on the morning before a marathon. Now we know this is not the best way to prepare but there are new myths...There is a strong belief that large amounts of protein need to be consumed to build muscle. However, there is no evidence for this at all. Protein is important to build muscle but we don't necessarily need large amounts. The timing of protein intake may be more important than the amount.

There are also many nutrition supplements on the market that claim to make your muscles grow, fat disappear, recover faster, and perform better. Most of these claims are not based on scientific evidence! Even worse, some of these supplements do not contain what they say they do! So supplements are not the way to a healthy and optimal diet. Supplements, as the name suggests, are meant to supplement a healthy diet, not to replace it or compensate for it!

Why sports nutrition is so exciting

As a triathlete I have learned how important nutrition can be. Take for instance one of the ultimate challenges: the Ironman (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, followed by a 42.2 km run). During an Ironman, you expend 10,000-11,000 kcal (a normal person will expend 2,000-2,800 kcal per day) and some of this energy needs to be supplied during the race. Fluid losses can be substantial: in some races it can be more than 10 litres, and these losses need to be minimised. However, although on the one hand there is evidence that refuelling and rehydrating are important, there are also practical considerations that need to be taken into account. For example, it is not always possible to carry that much food and drinks are sometimes the foods and drinks can cause gastro-intestinal problems. This is what makes the field of sports nutrition so exciting. Every sport and indeed every athlete has individual needs that can only be addressed appropriately by working closely with this athlete and finding out what is optimal for them. In a series of articles over the coming weeks we will discuss all these considerations and come up with some guidelines.

Asker Jeukendrup is Professor of Exercise Metabolism, Director of the Human Performance Lab, Exercise Metabolism Research Group, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham.

Another great performance at Challenge Roth

The 2009 edition of the Quelle Challenge Roth iron-distance race will go down in history as one of the quickest and most memorable races of all time.

Britains Chrissie Wellington smashed the female world record, taking 14 minutes off the previous record held by Skinfit athlete Yvonne Van Vlerken, lowering the record to a staggering 8:31:59.

Germany's Normann Stadler rode the quickest iron-distance bike split in history, covering the 180 kilometers in an incredible 4:14. Normann finished in fourth place overall, behind fellow German Michael Gohner who took the top prize with a sensational time for 7:55:53.

Skinfit athlete Olaf Sabatschus had a wonderful race, finishing in an incredible sixth place with a time of 8:06:01.

One more great performance at the event was from the Skinfit team.

With a great position at the Expo, and a great team on hand to speak to the hundreds of competitors and visitors, it was a very busy few days.

On race day, it was great to see so many competitors wearing the Skinfit kit.

The Skinfit team would like to wish all competitors our congratulations on making the event such a special and memorable occasion and we look future to meeting you again at future events.

Yvonne places second at Ironman Frankfurt

Once again, the outstanding athlete Yvonne Van Vlerken has shown her true class racing at Ironman Frankfurt.

After a very strong bike leg, Yvonne came into T2 side-by-side with Sandra Wallenhorst and the two of them fought it out during the marathon with Yvonne leading the first half of the run leg but eventually conceding victory to Sandra Wallenhorst, to record a time of 9:02:18.

We would like to congratulate Yvonne on another great race and a great day out for Skinfit!

Skinfit UK Brand Ambassador Stuart shines in Lanzarote!

One of Skinfit UK's Brand Ambassadors, Stuart Anderson, recently raced at Ironman Lanzarote. Here's Stuart's race report for your reading pleasure, enjoy!

Race Report

I'm really pleased: I had a great race with everything more or less going to plan.

It was a tough day for age groupers and Pro's alike with Bert Jammer narrowly missing a herd of goats crossing the road, whilst on the decent to Famara.

I had a great race with everything more or less going to plan. The swim was frantic and the current was pushing us into the buoys. I was using a new Sailfish suit, so I was pleased with the extra buoyancy it game me. Exiting the water for the second lap was exhausting, but good for the spectators, and I managed a smile before entering the water for another pummelling.

We had typical Lanzorate weather with a head wind from Yaiza all the way to Mirador del Rio. Going up Haria I was pushing 450 watts, holding just 8kmh!!

I could have walked quicker...

I had a solid bike and I managed my 'Ironman marathon PB', so I was really happy. I used only Infinit on the bike and gels and water on the run....I had no stomach issues and felt strong the whole way through. Getting your nutrition right is as important as all the hours you put into your training; I took two bottles with six scoops of Infinit in each and consumed 1/3 of a bottle per hour, chasing it down with water from my aero bottle. I'm sure this contributed to my 3.08 marathon as I ran pretty consistent splits off the bike. The crowds support was awesome and because it's a loop marathon course, where you collect a different coloured band each loop, it's easy to focus on attaining the next band to stay motivated.

Although I qualified for Kona, I've decided to make 2009 a build year for a dream year in 2010.

It was a tough decision but I didn't accept my slot for Kona as I want to attain a top 10 position in my age there and I think I will need more than 4 months to build for this.

I have a place in Ironman Wisconsin (Sept 13th) which has slots for 2010 and it will be my goal to qualify there.

To sum up, Lanza is such a well organised race and Kenneth Gasque the Race Director makes all the competitors feel really welcome. I've already registered for 2010!

stuart anderson

BIB	AGE	STATE/COUNTRY	PROFESSION
541	35	London Greater London United Kingdom	Consultancy Manager

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
1:03:48	5:33:17	3:08:34	9:53:46	42	8

LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
TOTAL SWIM - 3.8 km	1:03:48	1:40/100m	235	63
TOTAL BIKE	180 km (5:33:17)	32.40 km/h	76	16
RUN - 5 km	7:06:29 5 km @ 21:17	4:15/km
RUN - 10 km	7:28:28 5 km @ 21:59	4:23/km
RUN - 15 km	7:51:18 5 km @ 22:50	4:34/km
RUN - 21 km	8:14:36 6 km @ 23:18	3:53/km
RUN - 26 km	8:38:00 5 km @ 23:24	4:40/km
RUN - 31 km	9:02:14 5 km @ 24:14	4:50/km
RUN - 36 km	9:27:32 5 km @ 25:18	5:03/km
RUN - 42.2 km	9:53:46 6.2 km @ 26:14	4:13/km
TOTAL RUN	42.2 km (3:08:34)	4:28/km	42	8
TRANSITION				TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE				4:11
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN				3:56