Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from June 16, 2019

SIPE and Triathlon Swimming - what you need to know

A year ago, we experienced something incredibly scary as we had a coached athlete suffer from SIPE (Swimming induced pulmonary edema) during the swim portion of IM 70.3 St. George. Thankfully, he survived. Other triathletes, sadly, have not been so lucky. He is an experienced and fit triathlete so this was a big shock for us all. The water temp was in the low 60's and he was wearing a wetsuit. He didn't have a warm-up in the water. After entering the water, he started out with his effort  and quickly felt tightness in his chest. He mentioned he felt a similar tightness (but not as severe) on the day before the race during a pre-race practice swim. He started to cough severely and noticed pink phlegm coming from his cough - he was able to get to a kayak to rest. He tried to swim to the next kayak but was getting weaker. He finally exited the water and went to medical. The med tent didn't take his BP after the event but he later followed up with his doctor. All was ok w

DEXA Body Composition Testing - Review (and results)

Several weeks ago I was contacted via email by someone from a company who asked if I was interested in receiving a complimentary  DEXA Scan  (along with Karel) in return of a review. As you may know, I am not a fan of the scale and I never weigh myself. Considering all that makes up your body, your body weight can’t accurately be told by a number on the bathroom or BMI scale. But this doesn't stop far too many athletes from daily or weekly scale weighing - often feeling like the scale runs or ruins the day. A DEXA Scan is a reliable, gold-standard way to precisely measure body composition (I discussed this in my book Essential Sports Nutrition ). DEXA stands for dual energy x-ray absorptiometry.  More than just a weight, a DEXA Scan tells you what you are made up of - muscle, fat and bone. You can see muscle asymmetry, visceral fat and bone density. For the athlete with excessive body fat, weight loss may improve health and sport performance. However to pressure from societ

5 weeks until IM Canada - update

This isn't my first rodeo of training for an Ironman but life has presented me with an incredible opportunity to take my training up a notch with the professional guidance of my coach, Cait Snow (with the JD crew). Having already qualified for the Ironman World Championship at IMWI last September, this upcoming Ironman is an opportunity for me to remember what it's like to race an Ironman. While I have processed-driven goals for the race (which are keeping me motivated, patient and disciplined with my training), I have no time goals. With ~8,000 feet of elevation gained on the bike and unpredictable weather, my goal is to simply put together a race with the fitness that I've accumulated over the past 8 months and to cross the finish line feeling like I made good decisions for all 140.6 miles. With my 15th Ironman distance triathlon approaching in just 41 days, I thought this would be a good time to share some feedback on this Ironman journey. HEALTH My health is the