Intro to the Writer

Hi everyone! I'm professional triathlete and multi-sport coach Garrett Mayeaux. I’ve recently decided to revive the FlyTri Racing blog and take on the role of being the primary writer. This is my first blog post of many that I plan to write. I’ll be posting short reads every week and occasionally bi-weekly depending on my school/training schedule. I thought what better way, to start than to introduce myself. Hopefully this will serve as a platform to connect the reader to the writer & provide credibility to what you may read going forward. 

I’d like to start with a little background to my journey into endurance sports and education.  So back in 2007, my 7th-grade year, I decided to join a swim team and to start running cross-country & track. I competed at a high level in both USA Club & High School Swimming by the time I was a Junior in High School. This was when I decided to end my swimming career in order to focus on other things leading into college. During my High School running career, I qualified and competed at the State Cross Country meet all 4 years. After High School, I attended college at Texas A&M University 2013-2017. During my second semester of college, I decided to put the two sports together by jumping into the sport of triathlon. Throughout my A&M years, I competed in numerous triathlons, including multiple appearances at the Collegiate National Championship. In August of 2017, I graduated with a B.S. in Applied Exercise and Physiology. Then in September of 2017, I qualified to become a professional triathlete at a race in Des Moines, Iowa. The week after that race I started attending Parker University to become a Chiropractor.

Now I’d like to give you a peek into what it’s like to be a full-time doctoral student and professional triathlete. For Chiropractic school the coursework is broken into trimesters, so we have 3 semesters in a year with short breaks in between each. Currently, I’m in my 2nd trimester of school and I’m taking a 26.5hr course load. Instead of describing my weekly school schedule that starts at 8am every day, I figured it would be easier to just show a block schedule picture.

Disclaimer: The bedtime is a goal that is often not met

On top of the already early morning start, on the Tuesdays and Thursdays that I’m able to get at least 6 hours of sleep I go to a club that meets at 7am to practice assessing body structure motion.

Here is a weekly outline of my training schedule, which I fit in around my class schedule. I’ve also added a picture of my training peaks if you’d like a little more detail.

Monday                        Tuesday                         Wednesday                      Thursday

Rest day                    AM 1hr swim               AM 1-1.5hr swim                 AM 1hr swim

     Or                                      

Easy 30min-1hr         PM varying              Mid-day endurance bike           PM varying

training session         bike or run                                                                 bike or run

                                                                          PM easy run

            Friday                                     Saturday                                Sunday

      AM 1hr swim                       AM long bike ride                          Long Run

                                                       2.5-4hrs long                        1hr-1.5hrs long

      PM varying                      *occasional run brick

      bike or run                       *occasional PM swim

If you’re a number cruncher, my weekly totals hover around 15k-20k yards of swimming, 100 miles of biking, and 30 miles of running. Time wise I spend around 15 hours/week training.

This is representative of my usual training week if you just switch Saturday's run with Sunday's bike ride. This was a recent week of training with a Saturday running race

This is quite the busy schedule, but I still find time to study, socialize, sleep, and to watch a little TV every now and then. So needless to say life is good and I love pushing myself to the limit.

Thanks for reading and I hope you’ve enjoyed this intro! 

Great Showing at Rose City Triathlon

9.10 We had a great turn out at the Rose City triathlon with ten athletes racing. It was also our first time putting together a booth. I think it turned out really well. 

Coach and newly pro triathlete Garrett Mayeaux was 2nd overall and first out of the water.

Kevin Roberts and Lance Vernon were both 5th age group.

Kathy Roberts out of Rockwall was 4th age group.

Laura Whitfield was 10th age group but about 11 min faster than her last Triathlon that was shorter. She is also one of our coached runners cross training with swim and bike but she's been leaning to the triathlon side.

Julie Blount was 5th age group. She rode on her mountain bike. She's our marathoner in training. She only did this for fun.

June Sober finished 3rd!!

Bill Hebb had a great race and finished 3rd, especially after traveling all summer.

Sherril Wade and Dana Dudley finished 2nd and 3rd in the same age group. Sherril was two minutes faster this year and first time to podium at RCT!

Garrett Qualifies for Pro Card and Spencer and Hayden Sweep 1-2 at Brookhill Meet

9/1/17 It was a crazy good weekend for Fly Tri Racing. Spencer Otero, Sr. of Whitehouse and Hayden Jeffus, Fr. of Bullard swept the Brookhill meet going 1-2. Hayden had a heckuva a sprint finish the last few meters to steal 2nd overall from Gladewater Sabine. 

  9.2. We've been working with Garrett Mayeaux the last couple of years who is now coaching with us to help him earn his pro card and today it finally happened. He finished 3rd overall amateur the Des Moines Escape olympic distance triathlon in a new PR of 1:55:06. 

Effective Strategies to Beat Summer Heat

The summer heat plays a critical role in the training and preparation for an athlete. The summer heat causes an increase in heart rate, decrease in power, and increase in effort per pace. I don't want to spend a lot of time on what the heat does to impair our performances, but rather how we can be best prepared in hot conditions. Being dehydrated and not acclimated can ruin your performance.  The summer heat can make you feel as if your riding into a hair dryer, running in a sauna, or swimming in a hot tub. The triathlon races can go on for several hours into the hottest part of the day. Some running and cycling races start when the sun is just warming up and last well into the afternoon. 

To have your best summer races follow these tips:


Fluid Intake

The most basic way to beat the heat is with regular fluid intake on a daily basis. This helps preserve blood volume and prevents your heart rate from rising as much in the heat. As the temperature rises, your heart rate increases dramatically. Heart rate increases more in the heat because it's moving blood to cool the skin.  This makes it rather critical to stay on top of your hydration. (1)  From a performance perspective, it's important that athletes intake about 17 oz of cold liquid 1-2 hours before a race and then continue to consume a 4-8% carbohydrate solution drink during training and racing at regular intervals. I recommend sipping in 10-15 minute increments. For races that last longer than an hour, athletes may need to consume anywhere from 20-40 oz per hour of an electrolyte drink to maintain performance and reduce heat impairment. (2)  It's best to make daily hydration a habit. Allowing yourself to be dehydrated even just one day can you set you back all week.

Sweat Test

This basic field test can be performed on a hard training day and will help you dial in your fluid intake. This test should be done individually for the swim, bike, and run.  Simply weigh yourself before and after you have trained. It's advisable to do this every season change throughout the year. The end number will help determine how many ounces of fluid per hour to consume for individual needs. (3)

The math equation is:   (pre-training weight) - (post training weight) x 16 = weight change in ounces

(weight change in ounces + fluid consumed during training) = sweat loss in ounces

(sweat loss in oz) x ( hours trained) = sweat rate oz/hour

Importance of Salt

Salt gets a bad rap for increasing blood pressure, but it's extremely critical for the athlete as it helps regulate the bodies' fluid levels. Each athlete secretes a different amount of salt. One person may lose salt rapidly at around 1300mg in a 5K run while another person may lose less than 200mg.  A simple salty snack post-run can help re-hydrate. (7)   During long course racing, such as a marathon (4+ hours), ultra run, or long-course triathlon, athletes will need to start taking in salt in the middle of competition. Some athletes may need a high-concentration of sports drink and gels but others may get by on a few salt pills. Salt tablets, tend to work best by taking 2 per hour. Taking more can result in nausea. (8)  It's best to practice with a variety of different products while training at race intensity efforts to discover what works best for you.

One of the many the brands for salt tablets. 

Ice Vest

I learned this little trick from Canadian Pro-triathlete Brent Poulsen a few years ago. On the morning of your hot weather race, you can wear an ice vest to lower your core and skin temperature. Through research you'll discover there is actually a strong debate if this is even worthwhile to try.  One study out of the Journal of Strength & Conditioning (March 2014, Volume 28, Issue 3) noted there was no benefit in core temperature but lowered skin temperature. It even said this can be dangerous,  because it makes you will perceive to be cooler than you think you which could result in a high and dangerous core temperature. (4)

On the other hand, in another study from 2004,  American and Australian marathoners were provided each a cooling vest to lower body temperature. The vest appeared to keep core temperature down and improved performance in these marathoners. Some marathoners wore the ice vest for 10 minutes and removed it 1 minute before the start. This study concluded that the marathoners wearing the ice vest before the marathon kept their core temperature lower for longer than those who did not. (5)

Training to Adapt

The most effective way to train for hot weather racing is by training in it! That's nothing new, but what about the regular guys who only have availability to train in the morning or evening? A study by physiology students at the University of Oregon determined the athletes that are heat acclimated can perform anywhere from 4-8% better than those who are not. For those who hold day jobs and have families, training in the heat may not be an option. These athletes will need to adjust their A/C accommodations for training indoors or wear  multiple layers of clothing. Be sure to adjust the thermostat or add layers gradually each week. (6)

Dallas, Texas triathlete, Tommy Johnson simulating Hawaii conditions indoors by setting thermostat on 80 and a fan to create a light breeze. 

Ice, Cold Water, & Sponges

It's definitely a good idea to use what is available on the course. For example, before running hot weather races I would dump some very cold water on my head just before the start. Be sure to take small sips of water and dump as much cold water on your head throughout the race as possible. Slow down through the aid stations on the bike enough to grab some additional water to cool your skin temperature down. During the run, if available, stuff the ice and sponges down your shirt, pants, and under your visor. Doing this will help keep your core temperature lower.

World renown triathlete Macca shown here dumping ice water with a sponge tucked in his jersey.

Sources

1.  http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/knowing-what-affects-your-heart-rate-provides-valuable-information

2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15212747

3. http://triathanewbie.com/triathlon_articles/triathlon_article_The_Sweat_Test.html

4. http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Citation/2014/03000/Thermoregulatory,_Cardiovascular,_and_Perceptual.26.aspx

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1748408/

6. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/phys-ed-will-training-in-the-heat-improve-your-performance/?_r=

7. http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-runners/pass-salt?page=single

8. http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/multisport-zone/fuel-station/articles/figure-salt-in-the-balance-042109.aspx