We were finally able to catch up with our athletes news, in particular after the sad events occurred at the 2013 Boston Marathon. And though we will continue to support and remember the victims, we also want to celebrate the positives and congratulate all E3 athletes, Boston Triathlon teammates and friends.

On April 6th
Greg Popp completed the Race the Runway half-marathon in 1:37:24

On April 13th
Noah Manacas completed the Tour the Battenkill even after battling a cold

On April 14th
Beth Allen finished 4th Overall and 1st in her AG at the Wrentham Duathlon

On April 15th many of the RFR team, E3 athletes and friends completed the Boston Marathon in spite of the sad events affecting the day.
Ian Nurse posted a PR finishing in 2:25hr
Billy Thedoat posted a Boston PR finishing in 3:27hr
Jeff Williams completed his 1st marathon ever in 3:45hr
Ryan Case posted a PR finishing in 2:50hr
Alaina Neary finished in 3:23hr
Meg MacSwan posted a PR finishing in 3:30hr
Keith Tully finsihing in 3:20hr
Mike Kim finishing in 3:44hr
Brian MacMahon finishing in 3:44hr
Jill Whitney finishing in 3:44hr
Jared Kinch finishing in 3:43hr
Marissa Irwin finishing in 4:04hr
Mike Lillie finishing in 3:49hr

Congrats to all Run For Research runners, BTT teammates and other friends who were prevented from completing the event:
Ed Galante, Paul Newmwan, Meghan Gaston, Amy Kittredge Wood, Sarah Aspero, Connie Beth Adams, Denise Loranger, Gayle Love, Tim Kelly, Jameel Ali, Lisa Linard, Dan Sinnott, Katie Chisholm, Kate Sylvester, Jess Rossman, Jennie Perkins, Kim Marshal, Nhu Vhu, Scott Luther, Heather Poreda, Courtney Wasson, Sheri Field, Nick Giordano, Amanda Fowle, John Donlon, Scott Rumrill, Patrick Glynn, Hannah Gursky, Matt Parr, Eduardo, Jim Sparks, Deb Tully, Barbara Grandberg, Lindsey and Melissa Brayton, Danielle Howard, Dick Chase, Lisa Crompton, Sarah Moquin, Erin Markos and the rest of the team.

Mike Orr completed the Patriot’s Day 5 Miler in 40:32min

On April 20th
Dan Arnett placed 1st AG at the Blankets Creek Du.
Charlie Catalono finished 6th in AG in his first Tri in over a decade at the Miami University Student Foundation Sprint

On April 21st
Colin Dunham placed 2nd Overall and 1st in his AG at the Dubby Duathlon.

Congratulations everyone, keep working hard and remember why we do all this; for fun, as our lifestyle, support great causes and inspire others to be active.

If you want to support the victims, consider donating to the One Fund: https://onefundboston.org/ 

#BostonStrong

Yesterday was our first Key race on our 2013 calendar at the Hyannis Half Marathon under tough rainy, cold and windy conditions. Still, E3 athletes, coaches, the Run For Research team and fellow Boston Triathlon Teammates had great results!

Congrats to Jana Richtrova for her 3rd place age group and 14th female overall!

Personal Records for Kayle Shapero, Katelyn Kane, Billy Theodat, Bill Hafferty, Amy Kittredge Wood and Megan Gaston.

Solid days for Amy Greenwood, Brenda Chroniak, Ed Galante, Brett Johnston, Lucy Herzog, Denise Loranger, Will Bruce, Paul Newman, Kelly Sylvester, Danielle Howard, Kim Marshall, Scott Luther, Sarah Moquin and Frank Hacket.

Special Thanks for the cheering crew, thanks to Jeff Williams, Anna Trzasko, Theresa Johnston, Noah Manacas, Adam Gaston and everyone who braved the elements to support the racers. Great job everyone!

Notes:
CHO = carbs
gr = grams
Kg = Kilograms of body weight (to covert your weight to Kg, just diving your current weight in pounds by 2.20462)

Before training/racing:

• For easy/short sessions/races: < 1 hr – up to 0.5 gr CHO x Kg
• For intense sessions/mid duration session/races: 1-2 hrs – up to 1 gr CHO x Kg
• For long sessions: 3hrs > – up to 2 gr CHO x Kg

During training/racing:

• Sessions/races: < 1hr – small amounts of CHO
• Sessions/races: 1-2hr – bfast + up to 30 gr of CHO x hr
• Sessions/races: 2-5hr – bfast + up to 60 gr CHO x hr
• Sessions/races: 5 hr > – bfast + up to 90gr CHO x hr

After training/racing:

• Between 0.5 – 1 gr CHO x Kg – the shorter/easier the session/race, the less you need.

Details:
Your CHO can come from sport drinks like Skratch Labs, gels, bars, candy, fruit, etc. You can see the amount of CHO by looking at these products nutrition labels (see image below) or using online calculators

It is better to start with less CHO x hr, test it out in training and then, adjust as need it.

Examples:

• For a 2 hr run, have your b-fast 2-3 hrs before and during the run consume around 20-30 gr of CHO x hr. This can be as simple as 1 gel plus water per hour.
• For a 4 hr ride, have your b-fast 2-3 hrs before and during the ride consume 30-60 gr of CHO x hr. This can be as simple as a consuming 24oz water bottle with 3 scoops of Skratch Lab per hour.

Try different products as some work better for some while it may not work for others (cause GI distress).

Also, make sure to consume enough water because if the CHO concentration is too high, it may lead to GI distress, side stitches, etc.

You can mix this up depending on what you enjoy. Some people prefer getting CHO from drinks, others from gels or bars and yet, others get some from drinks and some from gels/bars/fruit.

As you test this on your training, you will find out what works best for you. Do this in advance of your main race and you will make sure fueling is not a reason that prevents you to perform at your very best!

Of course, if you would like us to help you, we can provide a personalized and detail fueling plan based on on your individual needs, goals and limitations! Check our plans here

If you have training zones defined by power or heart rate, it will help you follow the workouts, though if you don’t have either, you can use respiratory perceived exertion (RPE) and get a good workout. See the tables at the end of this page to get an idea what the zones in the workouts mean and how they relate to power and  RPE.

Still, if you want to do a test to determine your zones, at the bottom you can see the tests to determine your training zones based on heart rate or using power. Just get your results and use our calculator that can be found here

Workouts

No. 1 -The Power Builder – This 1 hour workout will help you increase your critical power and make 60 minutes on the trainer pass by very fast!

WU: 15 min @ 65-75% CP (z1), 5 min as 15 sec @ 120%CP (z5) / 45 sec @ 60-65%CP (z1), 5′ @ 70-75%CP (z2)
MS: 3 x (5 min @ 95-100% (low z4) + 2 min @ 105% (high z4) + 1 min @ 120% CP (z5)) with 2 min @ 55-65% CP (z1) as recovery between sets
CD: 5 min @ 60-65% CP (z1)
Total – 1 hr

No. 2 - The 6×4 minutes of Hell – This 1 hour workout will help you increase your power in a very intense way (hence the name my athletes affectionately refer to it as the 4 minutes of hell)

WU: 15 min @ 65-70% CP (z1-z2) + 5 min as 30 sec @95-100% CP (z4)/ 30 sec @ 70-75% CP (z2) + 5 min @ 70-80% CP (z2)
MS: 6×4 min @ 105% CP (high z4)  with 45 sec rest in between intervals @ 55-65% CP (z1)  – read notes –
CD: 6:30 min 55-65% of CP (z1)
Total – 1:05 hrs

Details – Do sets 1-5 @ 105%CP (high z4) and the last set (6th) go as hard as you can!

No. 3 - The Tempo Special – This 90 minute workout will help you develop both endurance and increase your power.

WU: 10 min @ 65-75% CP (z1-z2)
MS: 5 x (5 min @ 75% CP (z2) + 5 min @ 80-85% CP (low z3) + 5 min @ 85-90%CP (high z3)),
CD: 5 min 70%CP
Total – 1:30 hrs

No. 4 - The Endurance Builder – This 2 hour workout will help you develop your specific endurance while having some bouts of intensity. The constant changes of pace will make the workout go by quicker and provide a more real feel for outdoor riding.

WU: 20 min @ 65-75% CP (z1-z2)
MS: 90 min as 5 min @ 70%CP (low z2), 5 min’ @ 75% (high z2), CP, 3 min’ @ 80% CP (low z3), 2 min @ 90% CP (low zone 4)
CD: 10 min @ 55-65% CP (z1)
Total – 2 hrs

Training Levels and Borg Scale for Perceived Exertion

A. Coggan Power Levels

Tests

To determine your Critical Power:

Test #1 – 5 min maximal effort

WU: 10 min @ 55-65% CP (z1), 5 min as 30 sec @ 90-100% CP (z4)/ 30 sec @ 55-65% CP (z1), 5 min @ 70-75% CP (z2)
MS: VO2 test 5 min all out,
5min  @ 55-65%CP (z1), 15 min @ 80% CP (z3)
CD: 10 min @ 55-65% CP (z1)
Total – 55 minutes

Details: The 5 minute Time Trail Field Test — Remember that the goal of the test is for you to ride as fast as possible but at a pace which allows you to complete the entire test. make sure your power meter is calibrated. Start the test and start recording your heart rate. The average power for the test is what we’ll use to calculate your critical power. It is very important that you should finish knowing you gave it everything you had. It will be a good idea to be in a nice ventilated area, to have a fan to cool you down during the test, a towel and have fluids handy.

Test #2 – 20 min test

WU: 15 min @ 55-65% CP (z1), 5 min as 30 sec @ 90-100%  CP (z4)/ 30 sec @ 55-65% CP (z1), 5 min @ 70-75%CP (z2)
MS: 20min test all out
CD: 10 min @  70-75% CP (z1)
Total – 55 minutes

Details: The 20 minute Time Trail Field Test — Remember that the goal of the test is for you to ride as fast as possible but at a pace which allows you to complete the entire test. Make sure your power meter is calibrated. Start the test and start recording your power for the 20 minutes. The average power for the test is what we’ll use to calculate your critical power. It is very important that you should finish knowing you gave it everything you had. It will be a good idea to be in a nice ventilated area, to have a fan to cool you down during the test, a towel and have fluids handy.

To determine your heart rate threshold:

WU: 15 min @ z1, 5 min as 30 sec @ z4/ 30 sec @ z2, 5′ @ z2
MS: 20 min all out test (read details below)
CD: 10 min @ z1
Total – 55 minutes

Details – The 20 minute Bike Time Trail Test — Remember that the goal of the test is for you to ride as fast as possible but at a pace which allows you to complete the entire 20 min test. Start the test and start recording your heart rate for the entire test. The average for test is what you’ll use to calculate your Heart Rate threshold. It is very important that you should finish knowing you gave it everything you had. It will be a good idea to be in a nice ventilated area, to have a fan to cool you down during the test, a towel and have fluids handy.

We are very excited to announce that for the 2013 season, Skratch Labs will be supporting our Coaches, Elite Team and athletes as our official sports hydration drink!

About Scratch Labs – it is a small and independently owned business developed by Allen Lim, PhD who was worked as a sport scientist and coach for a professional cycling teams. He is coauthor of a cookbook called “The Feed Zone” that teaches athletes how to cook fresh simple meals for themselves using real wholesome ingredients.

Their mission is simple – to develop and sell food and drink products based on real world science and practice that taste great, that are made from real ingredients, and that optimize performance for both sport and life. Most importantly, they intend to educate and to continue to learn and grow – to help their customers improve and thrive as they help them to do the same.

Their Exercise Hydration Mix, also known as “Secret Drink Mix”, was developed and tested in the field with athletes competing in races like the Tour de France.  For years, athletes would secretly dump their sponsors’ drinks to replace it with the exercise hydration mix, earning the name “SDM”. Those athletes will tell you that they felt better, performed better, and didn’t experience the bloating and stomach issues that they did with other sports or electrolyte drinks.

Our sponsor Landry’s Bicycles is the official dealer in Boston, in case if you want to try it out. We are sure it will quickly become your favorite sport hydration drink!

Look for our athletes and team hydrating with Skratch Labs products throughout the 2013 season!

Do you want to learn more about triathlon/run topics through training articles & videos?

Do you want to share your racing reports and/or receive a shout out at the races our team and coaches will be attending?

Do you want win cool prices in the process?

If you answer yes to any of the questions above, this post is for you! During December we’ll be giving away prizes from our sponsors. To participate the process is simple, help us reach 500 followers/fans on Facebook and/or Twitter:

1. Like our Facebook Fan page; just follow THIS LINK and click the “LIKE” button and/or to 500 Facebook and/or Twitter followers:

2. Follow us on Twitter (@e3training); just click the Follow button: Follow @e3training

Every week we’ll pick a winner from our fans. We’ll be keeping track who is referring more of their friends, so spread the word to increase your chances to win!

The 2nd prize is from our sponsor Landrys Bicycles, we will be giving away a gift card with a $50.00 value for free. You can use this at any of their 4 convenient locations

Do you want to stay up-to-date about our athletes/coaches racing for 2013? Do you want to learn more about tri/run/cycling topics through training articles/videos? Do you want to share your racing reports with us and get a shout out at the races our team and coaches will be attending? And do you want win cool prices in the process?

If you answer yes to any of the above, then this post is for you! During the month of December we’ll be raffling prizes from our sponsors. To participate the process is simple:

1. Like our Facebook Fan page; just follow THIS LINK and click the “LIKE” button and/or

2. Follow us on Twitter (@e3training); just click the Follow button: Follow @e3training

Every week we’ll pick a winner from our fans. We’ll be keeping track who is referring more of their friends, so spread the word to increase your chances to win!

The 1st prize is from our sponsor Xterra Wetuits, we will be giving away one Transition backpack (see image below) with a $70.00 value for free!

We are very excited to announce that for the 2013 season, Swiftwick will be supporting our Coaches, Elite Team and athletes with their quality products and discounts.

About Swiftwick - there are ordinary socks, and then there are Swiftwick socks. One pair will convert you for life. At E3, we have been wearing them for a while now and we can guarantee it’s the best sock you’ll ever wear.  Their Performance Line socks are knitted at 200 needles; the highest density you’ll find in socks. The higher the needle count, the tighter the knit and that prevents debris or foreign material from penetrating your sock to cause irritation and blistering.

This structure creates a second-skin feel, prevents shifting or bunching and eliminates the risk of friction blisters while making your shoes fit more comfortably. Every Swiftwick sock is a compression sock they are the most comfortable ones we have tried. Trust me, we have tried many of the most popular brands!

Their vision is to be the leader in sock technology while creating a culture focused on manufacturing the best products through environmentally friendly means, social responsibility, and superior customer service. All their production is domestic which affords them improved quality control. Swiftwick is proud to employ an American workforce, with all of their socks made in Tennessee.

Check out their triathlon specific products and stay tuned for promotions.

Look for our athletes and team sporting some Swiftwick throughout the 2013 season!

We are very happy to announce our Elite Age Group team for the 2013 season. Our Triathlon team is a group of committed amateur athletes who will be supported through professional coaching programs, sponsorship deals and multimedia presence. Our goal is to help these athletes develop and realize their athletic potential at the amateur and professional level through evidence-based training and technology.

The Elite team will represent E3 Training and its sponsors throughout the country at numerous races like short & long course events and compete at some of the most prestigious world championships such as the Ironman World Championship, 70.3 World Championship, USAT short course and long course Nationals, the Xterra World Championship and the ITU Age Group World Championship.

Our team will lead clinics, talks and group training which will be open for athletes of all levels with emphasis on beginner athletes.

Our 2013 female Elite Team members are:

• Beth Allen
• Patricia Brownell
• Meg MacSwan
• Alaina Neary Case
• Carolyn Pfalzgraf
• Jana Richtrova

Our 2013 male Elite Team members are:

• Colin Dunham
• Rick Durgin
• Brian MacIlvain
• Jorge Martinez
• Andrew Thompson

In coming weeks we will start the E3 Elite team blog and introduce each of the members so you can follow their journey through the 2013 season!