Infinit Runs Badwater Ultramarathon with Eric Deshaies

A note from Infinit-Featured Athlete, Eric Deshaies, about the World's Toughest Footrace: On July 12th, I will participate in the Badwater Ultramarathon in California. I'll be part of a select group who will participate in what is recognized across the globe as “the world’s toughest footrace.” Covering 135 miles (217km) non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA in temperatures up to 130F (55c). It is the most demanding and extreme running race offered anywhere on the planet. It's been a long process to participate in this race. My training started off a year ago with the 24h race in Drummondville where I did 187 km. Also, I raced the Vermont 100 miles run which was the first in two 100 miles I had to complete in order to apply for Badwater.

Since October, my training as been more focused on running where as before, I was more of a long distance triathlete. I did a good training race at the JFK50, a 50 mile run in November in a time of 7h06. All winter I ran around 180km per weeks training for the Rocky Raccoon 100 miles which I finished in 4th place overall. Finally, in February, I received a letter confirming that I had been chosen to take part in Badwater. My training now consist in a lot of mileage and heat acclimatization. I got to do two very good training camps in San Antonio,TX in high heat and in hilly Lake placid at the end of June. Now it's taper time and thanks to Infinit Nutrition, I'm ready to go!

-- Eric Deshaies

How to Concentrate for Race Day

One of the most frequently asked questions I get about what is the best protocol for carrying your custom formulas for training and on race day. Here are my thoughts after racing on my custom formula for years but also having worked with literally thousands of coaches and athletes.

For training I don't think it's a good idea. Everyone stops after a couple of hours to refill their bottles. Just carry some servings of your formulation in a zip lock and mix when you fill up with water. That way you don't have to carry your INFINIT and water. It is much easier to not concentrate, just drink your stuff and ride your bike.

For sprint distance racing (less than 3 hours), again I would not recommend concentrating. Just mix your stuff regular strength and drink. A couple of bottles will give you all the calories and electrolyte you will need. In sprint racing, to worst mistake you can make is by trying to do too much. Simple and lighter is better for shorter distance racing.

For longer distances (greater than 4-5 hours) how (or if to concentrate) is a matter of personal preference and the kind of racing you do.

For road racing and Mountain Bike events I always use my formula in a non-concentrated form. Normally they are looped courses. I just grab new bottles or a new camel back after each loop. Again, simple is best and it is hard to screw this method up.

If it is a non-looped MTB race, I fill my camel back and then carry some powder in a zip lock baggie. Once I reach a support station I refill with water and dump in the powder and mix. Still a very easy and light way to race.

For Triathletes doing half Iron Distance or less there really is no need to concentrate if you are cycling for less than three hours and assuming you can carry at least 3 bottles on your frame. If it’s a hot day or if you are a heavy sweater, drink a bottle per hour for all of your nutritional needs and then supplement with water off the aid stations to match your hydration target (link to sweat rate test). You cannot get much easier than that, drink a bottle per hour for all of your calories and electrolyte and supplement with water if you need it.

For Iron Distance Triathletes that are worried about weight because of time savings or a hilly course, this is where concentrating is a valid method and concern. Myself, I prefer simple. My brain turns to mush after a couple of hours in the saddle, so the less complications the better. I again carry three bottles for the first half and drink one per hour. I supplement with water if it is hot and to match my sweat rate. Then I grab three pre-mixed bottles at special needs and repeat. Super easy and impossible to make mistakes.

However if you do want to concentrate on the bike (and I would guess that 50% of our customers do so), you can make a feed bottle that will save you weight for racing. This assumes that you have access to water to dilute a concentration. If you do not dilute, the osmolality will be too high and can lead to stomach distress.

For long course Triathlon most coaches and athletes feel like 3 servings is about the most you want to put in one bottle, which normally is about 800-900 calories depending on your formula. Using this method, you can get all of your nutrition into two bottles. Each bottle would contain 3 hours worth of nutrition. You can also do two servings in each bottle (4 scoops) and carry three bottles. Three bottles then would have six hours worth of nutrition. The choice to do 2 or 3 bottles depends on the configuration of your bike. To reiterate, if you do not dilute your concentrated formula, the osmolality will be too high and can lead to stomach distress.

An inside tip that a lot of our professionals use for race day, just order your bike endurance formula, and dial the flavor way back to the left. That was when you concentrate it will not be a strong flavor but still have all your calories and electrolyte.

IF you have a special formula for running, we suggest using a Fuel belt or Nathans. Just take the bottles and fill it up right to the very top with powder. Then add water to make a heavy concentrate. It will still mix and be thin enough to use with no problems. Then, when you get to an aid station just squirt a little of the concentrated run mix into a cup of cold water. You can get 1600-2000 calories in 4 bottles.

For the run I always have some extra bottles at special needs in case I am blowing through my product. You NEVER want to run out and being redundant is always a good idea for planning your nutrition. INFINIT stays good for a long time and even in the heat. I kept my protein formula in Kona run special needs in 95 degree heat for 14 hours and lived to tell the tail. :)

It’s a question of balancing simplicity and weight savings.

Michael
Chief Powder Maker

Maximizing Calorie Intake During Cycling

As an endurance athlete competing in mountain biking, marathoning and Ironmans I have come to know endurance nutrition is the key in reaching your true potential. Before starting INFINIT Nutrition Canada I had already converted to using all liquid diet during my racing and training. I simply learned I could process more calories in a given period of time as compared to consuming both liquids and solids. Until I was introduced to INFINIT I thought it was normal to have to force down my nutrition at the 100 mile mark of my long training rides. Sure I was a little skeptical when I read the claim that INFINIT would allow me to create my very own customized drink, but that is exactly what I did. I simply manipulated the sliders on the INFINIT page to create a drink that had all of the desirable characteristics that my regular drink had and then I added what it couldn't deliver. For me the taste was important as I struggle to consume a bottle an hour through out the entire ride, playing with the Flavour slider allowed for a drink that I craved all day long. The other big need I had was a higher than normal Electrolyte load as I am a very heavy sweater, rather then taking salt tabs I now could get it all in one drink at the right level.

So there I had it a all in one 300 calorie blend that was mixed at a concentration that was slightly isotonic as compared to my bodily fluids. Not all that educated at the time about the importance osmolality or a concentration of a drink, I wasn't aware of why this was so important, but I certainly became aware of the importance. Simply put, when a drink is formulated at the right concentration it will be emptied freely from the stomach and then readily absorbed into the small intestine. Remember science class? A liquid of low concentration will flow towards a liquid of higher concentration - simple diffusion!! So what!? Why is this important?

Immediately my calorie consumption during rides shot up from 300 calories to hour to a comfortable 450 calories per hour. That extra 750 calories over the century rides along with proper hydration allowed me to finish my rides stronger then ever. I am a big believer that recovery begins during training, I always look to finish my training bouts as nourished as possible. Recovering with a tank that is 3/4 full is far better than finishing on empty. This allows you to get more from that next training bout. The ability to customize a sports drink is both novel and practical. It allows you to train and race at your best and recover quickly so you can do it all again the next day.

INFINIT allows you to adjust total calories, flavour, protein, electrolyes and amino acid levels, even tune the blend of 3 different carbohydrates to match you chosen discipline. Reach your potential - customize today.

-- Darcy

Why Train on Same Fuel as Race Day?

Many customers have recently asked: Why is it important to train on INFINIT? As part of our AskINFINIT series we created this video to explain why.

Let us know if you have any questions - go to Ask INFINIT on our home page.

Remember to practice your nutrition, just as you practice the other three disciplines: Swim, Bike & Run. It's the only way you will reach your true potential!

See you in Welland this weekend, Multisport Canada racers. - Darcy

MultiSport Canada Race Report: Woodstock

Great to see everyone at MultiSport Canada's Triathlon Series at Woodstock and have a chance to meet so many Infinit Nutrition customers in person. Take to minute to watch Roger review the course, course challenges, and his use of Infinit. - Darcy

Looking for race results from Woodstock? Click here. Considering racing one of these events? You should! Click here to learn more about the entire series. And, don't forget, Infinit RUN, RIDE, and REPAIR are official on-course drinks for the entire 2010 MultiSport Canada Triathlon Series; grab a 6-PACK of our convenient, easy-to-pack single serving packages.

MultiSport Triathlon Series Season Starts Tomorrow

Hey Team,
Just a quick note to let you know that we will be at the races tomorrow and Saturday in Woodstock, Ontario. Jenn and I will be on hand to ensure that all athletes get a healthy dose of INFINIT. Remember all season long we will be in course with our Run and Ride blends.

Come chat with us - happy to sign you up for your chance to win the kickin QR Seduza Tri-Bike that we will be giving away this year. Also if you need any help or advise on tweaking your formulation we will be happy to work with you.

http://www.msctriathlon.com/ms/events/showEvent.cfm?showEventID=97

Hope to see you out. We know that John and the Team puts on a great race!
Darcy

Specific Training with Sonni Drer

Studio Seven USAT certified coach Sonni Drer is a long time INFINIT certified partner and 6x USAT All American. He has coached numerous All Americans, National Champions and World Champion.

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Ahhh, the smell of fresh ink on your skin at the body-marking tent in the morning. It MUST be Summer…………………and time to race!!

This is the time of year when triathletes begin to group together at tracks & group rides to get some race-like intensity in before the next big event. So there's no question that there is a need to go harder (ie: higher heart-rate, faster pace, etc…) than one has been training in the Base-phase.

The question is, however, "How hard?", and "for how long?"

Good questions, actually.

We'll begin to address them by going back to the concept of 'specificity', just a fancy term that says that our training time/energy is best spent doing things that most replicate the event we're training for ie: specific training.

As races approach, do you get on a rower to prepare for a triathlon? Of course not. It's not specific. But that same person, (by that same measure), would run 800m intervals at a pace that they could never touch in a 5k at the end of a sprint-triathlon. This is an example of non-specific INTENSITY.

Would you run 2hr long runs on the weekends to prepare for sprint and Olympic distance races?……………non-specific DURATION.

So what IS specific training? Well, take a look at your upcoming events. If a series of sprint events are on the horizon, you'll not need to exceed a one hour run at any given time. If you're registered for a half-ironman, the 2:30-4 hour bike rides are a necessity.

But let's talk about heart-rate, here. When we write programs for athletes, never do we specify a session to be done at a heart-rate above one's Lactate Threshold (the point at which someone is accumulating more lactic acid in the muscle than they can get rid of).

Why? Well, a triathlete needs to be able to sustain a high output for several minutes to hours at a time. Before we can even begin to improve one's efficiency at race-pace, they MUST be efficient at lower, AEROBIC heart-rates. Your "aerobic-engine" is/was developed in the base phase with a lot of, (what I call) "middle-ground" heart-rate hours or, more scientifically called "MAF"…….maximum aerobic function. (We even monitor this efficiency w/ periodic 'maf-assessments'.)

As we get closer to the races, though, we need to get away from the middle-ground in our 'break-through' sessions. Our hard days must get harder……..more race-like.

But to achieve this, [and DO NOT miss this point]...our ez days must get easier!!

Performing intervals at a heart-rate above this Lactate Threshold is very ''old-school''. You know, more pain = more gain, mentality. The problem is that such sessions yield only marginal results over sessions done at just under one's LT. Yet, the cost (with regard to “muscle-recovery” and your weekly sequencing) is much too high.

You require too much recovery time (in the following days) by going too hard!

You can reap huge benefits by reducing the intensity a bit and extending the duration of a single session, or even the number of these sessions in a given week because you didn't dig yourself into a 'recovery-hole' on any ONE workout.

Long intervals that are at, (or just below), one's lactate threshold develop the ability to sustain race-like output (ie: pace, power, heart-rate) in the actual races.

Short, 'above-threshold' intervals will make you too tired to spend a sufficient amount of time, each week, to produce a positive training response.

NOW, does this mean that we never prescribe anyone to go REALLY fast? Nope, we have some KILLER speed-oriented track sessions, but the longest of these intervals is 400m! By the time the heart-rate gets up to that 'point-of-no-return', the interval is over. So if we're going to train the body to go fast (for leg-speed), we're going to do it in an interval where the speed can be sustained, from 100 to 400m, (because this is primarily 'neuromuscular-conditioning' in nature) & do it very fast.

If, on the other hand, our workout goal is to push back one's lactate-threshold (thereby making them more efficient at race-pace), our aim is to create a race-like interval that's specific in terms of the target-race's intensity in a workout that’s duration-specific to that target-event.

This is the single biggest reason we get the feedback, "Coach, I don't feel like I'm working-out as hard, yet I'm getting alot faster!". Bingo!


See you at the races.


Coach Sonni Dyer

Race for a Reason with EleonoreRocks.org!

INFINIT Nutrition very own Dave, the founder of The ELEONORE ROCKS Foundation is doing a raffle for terminally ill children. I am sure if you are an INFINIT fan you have seen Dave at the races.

Dave and his wife Rochelle started the ELEONORE ROCKS foundation after losing their daughter. The raffle will benefit terminally ill children and their families. The full story can be found of the website www.ELEONOREROCKS.org A ticket to the raffle costs 10 dollars. If you spend 25 dollars not only will you be getting a raffle ticket but also a beautiful Headsweats visor! Help the foundation and win some of the amazing gifts from our friends in the industry.

Raffle entry


A few of the gifts:

Blue Seventy: Reaction Wetsuit
K-Swiss: 6 pairs of shoe’s… up to $110.00 per pair
Newton: 6 pair of running shoes (of their choice)
2XU: Compression Running Tights and Running Jacket
Beaker Concepts: 2 HydroTails, 2 Speedfolds Wallets, 2 pairs of compression socks, 1 Blaze Hydrotail
ISM Saddles: 1 ISM Saddle
Speedfil: 1 Speedfil
Fuelbelt: 6 water bottle holders, 6 mp3 holders
Headsweats: Visors/Hats
Wheeltags: 2 sets of tags for 60mm wheels
Sailfish: 1 certificate for a wetsuit
Infinit Nutrition: 6 bags of customized Nutrition
Rev3: Race Entries into Rev3 events
Erin Bakers: 12 dozen cookies
Coffees of Hawaii: 6 (1 pound bags of fresh roasted coffee of your choice)


We will be adding more prizes as we get more donations…. Thanks for donating and good luck at the races!!!

The ELEONORE ROCKS Foundation
www.ELEONOREROCKS.org