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Home Training Training The keys to an athlete’s preparation for the 2022 IM Hawaii, by Karoly Spy The keys to an athlete’s preparation for the 2022 IM Hawaii, by Karoly Spy

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The keys to an athlete’s preparation for the 2022 IM Hawaii, by Karoly Spy

by Bernard Eymael on

The Hawaii IM is a legendary and demanding race, by far the one with the highest field density on the global circuit, both among professionals and amateurs. 

When you are fortunate enough to qualify for Hawaii, you should prepare specifically for it in an attempt to achieve your best performance there. 

Preparing for this race is unique and nothing should be left to chance, because you may have the best training in the world, but it will be useless if you have not acclimatized beforehand to the humid heat or prepared your stomach and intestines to ingest a high dose of carbohydrates (90 to 120g/h). These two elements (heat & nutrition) are the keys to performance in Hawaii. 

The purpose of this article is to provide you with some clarification on each important component of preparing for the Hawaii IM, so that you do not leave the Hawaiian island frustrated with your performance.

1. Let’s talk a little about pacing

Pacing corresponds to the most effective pace strategy and therefore enables the athlete to produce the highest mechanical power throughout the event. In 2008, Abbiss & Laursen reported the pacing strategy generally used over the IM distance.

From this graph, we can therefore see that the intensity produced (represented by the progression of heart rate) continually decreases from swimming to running. Applied to an event such as the Hawaii IM (where, it should be remembered, field density at each level is maximized), such an observation is likely to be amplified. In other words, in a pacing setup where competition with other athletes is heightened, the athlete often (always?) commits to higher paces, thinking: « I’m hanging on as much as possible; maybe it will work this time perhaps ». Unfortunately, this kind of strategy never works in an Ironman, often resulting in considerable suffering during the marathon.

To determine an appropriate individual pacing strategy, it is necessary to identify the causes of fatigue beforehand over the IM distance, which may have a negative impact on pace management. To name a few (Burnley & Jones, 2007):

  • Glycogen depletion
  • Hyperthermia depending on environmental conditions
  • Possible dehydration
  • The onset of muscle damage
  • A decrease in central drive (at the neural level), which reduces the intensity of muscle contraction
  • High levels of neuromuscular fatigue
  • A decrease in motivation

We can influence these different factors by using a specific approach:

  • Definition of an optimal pace that will have been worked on beforehand during preparation through specific sessions.
    • The concept of critical intensity—the linear relationship between intensity and time—is an effective approach that has proven itself over Ironman distance. Simply put, the longer the event, the lower the intensity.
    • Various field tests can be used to determine critical power/speed. 
    • Critical intensity can be maintained for approximately 60 minutes; a simple approach is to perform a maximal effort for 60 minutes to obtain an approximate value for your critical power/speed.
    • Based on knowledge of this figure and the course profile—flat or hilly—we can model the power that can be sustained without generating fatigue detrimental to the targeted cycling performance, and especially to the marathon.
    • This concept of cycling Tempo should not be viewed as an intensity that will produce the best performance in this discipline, but rather as management of your energy reserve, enabling you to approach the marathon in the best possible condition and achieve the best overall performance in each discipline and across the Ironman as a whole.
    • Cycling power Tempo is specific to each individual in relation to their individual power–time relationship.
    • However, it is possible to identify an average power that can be sustained over the cycling course of an Ironman, between 75–80% of critical power.
    •  ⚠️ The average critical power that can be sustained depends on the duration of the cycling event: the longer the duration, the lower the percentage of critical power.
    • Example of a real case involving an athlete preparing for the 2022 IM Hawaii

 

Preparing for an Ironman requires long hours of training with substantial volume in each discipline. It is completed at a sustained intensity over a long duration. This demands training that reflects that requirement. Short, high-intensity sessions or a low training volume will not prepare you to perform well in an Ironman! 

It is the long sessions with perfect control of intensity that are important, enabling improved mitochondrial efficiency, optimized use of energy sources, and a higher fatigue-tolerance threshold! You need to focus on the process that will help you perform at your best over Ironman distance. 

Here is an example of a 200 km session including 140 km at specific Tempo intensity, plus 10 km of fatigue-tolerance work. 👇🏻

  • We can see that power and heart rate remained relatively stable during the Tempo section, with an average pedaling cadence of @80 rpm, which is a good balance between force and velocity over Ironman distance. 
  • In the 10 km Z2 section, good ANS regulation can be observed, with an increase in heart rate (HRmean +19 bpm) and the ability to increase power in a pre-fatigued state after 160 km.
  • This session validated the Tempo both mechanically (power), physiologically (little cardiac drift), and perceptually, with an RPE of 4–5/10. 

The approach is identical in running, with long-duration training. Example: 34 km, including 29 km Tempo + 2 km Z2 👇🏻

  • We can see a good intensity–heart rate relationship during the Tempo section. This session indicates good aerobic efficiency, with a lower heart rate relative to the intensity. 
  • In the Z2 section, a marked cardiac drift can be observed (HRmean +14 bpm), which is evidence of a positive adaptive response from the ANS. 
  • The mental aspect is also worked on during this type of session to strengthen mental resilience during exertion, enabling the athlete to endure maintaining a target intensity for several hours despite an increase in fatigue.

2. What nutritional strategy for an IM

Energy expenditure over an Ironman distance (IM) is very high, in the region of 8,500 to 11,500 kcal, with an average of around 9,040 kcal (Laursen & Rhodes, 2001). The body’s glycogen stores (carbohydrate storage in the muscles and liver) amount to approximately 3,000 kcal, while lipid stores (fat) amount to 68,250 kcal (for a 70 kg athlete with 10% body fat). One might think that lipid stores are sufficient to cover an Ironman without exogenous energy intake, but unfortunately it is not that simple. Indeed, even with a high rate of fat oxidation, the athlete cannot meet the energy demands of an IM using lipids alone; they must also have an exogenous carbohydrate intake.

Exogenous carbohydrate intake during an IM makes it possible to:

  • To preserve glycogen stores, which is essential because depletion of glycogen reserves causes muscle fatigue and a decrease in muscle excitation–contraction coupling
  • To go faster in ultra-endurance events by delaying the onset of fatigue
  • To maintain a high exercise intensity or relative intensity over a long duration
  • To limit muscle damage during exercise and improve post-exercise recovery

Recent scientific advances have shown that a carbohydrate intake of between 90 g/h and 120 g/h, depending on the athlete’s ability to assimilate it without gastrointestinal distress (GI distress), is an effective nutritional strategy for performing well in endurance events.

Attention

Using this amount of carbohydrates is only possible if you choose a drink containing two intestinal carbohydrate transporters: SGLT1 for glucose and GLUT5 for fructose. Indeed, the intestines cannot absorb more than 60 g of carbohydrates per hour if there is only one glucose transporter. The ideal composition of the drink is two-thirds carbohydrates and one-third fructose. To assimilate between 90 and 120 g of carbohydrates per hour, the stomach and intestines must be trained well in advance.

Carbohydrates and fats are therefore both important for performing well in an IM, so their use should be optimized through a combined training approach aimed at increasing fat-oxidation capacity while also optimizing the oxidation of exogenous carbohydrates. A periodized approach to nutrition during training involves scheduling sessions with low carbohydrate availability to promote adaptation of fat metabolism, as well as other specific training sessions with high carbohydrate intake to train the stomach and intestines to absorb exogenous carbohydrates and reduce GI distress. 

A new approach to nutritional periodization during training sessions is currently emerging, and the benefits seem promising for improving metabolic flexibility (the ability to use carbohydrates and fats during exercise). This new approach is currently being tested with the athletes in the group.

3. Jet lag management

There is a 12-hour time difference between Hawaii and mainland France, so you need to prepare for it in advance to absorb the change and avoid being completely out of sync at the starting line, which would negatively affect performance. 

Practical recommendations for jet lag converge on the idea of adjusting your biological clock by 1 hour per day for each hour of time difference, suggesting that you regulate your bedtimes and wake-up times nearly two weeks before the event. Moreover, since the athletes traveling to Hawaii rarely arrive at the last minute, this strategy should be continued during the days spent at the competition venue. In this context, measures that promote sleep (relaxation, a mild room temperature, a hot shower, a light meal, a milk-and-honey drink, listening to your sleep cycle, etc.), as well as those that delay it (coffee, light, intense physical exercise, noise, smartphone use, etc.), take on their full meaning. Similarly, moderate naps (around twenty minutes) can help you cope with the implementation of this time adjustment.

4. Acclimatizing to face difficult weather conditions

On average, the ambient temperature in Hawaii rises to ~30° at this time of year, with humidity >50% (creating a perceived temperature of +5–6°). Bear in mind that this type of thermal environment causes an average loss of ~2%, ~7%, and ~16% over exercise durations of ~6min, ~30min, and ~70min, respectively. So imagine the performance decline during a hot Ironman if you are not prepared for it…?! Heat acclimatization is one of the keys to performance at the Hawaii IM; it reduces thermal strain during exercise, potentially improving performance.

Nothing could be simpler! Three weeks before the competition, try doing your low-intensity sessions in a room heated to 30°C, for >60min, 3 times/week. If you progress gradually and pay attention to how you feel (no overloading!), you will teach your body to better tolerate (mentally!) and dissipate (physiologically!) the heat it accumulates during exercise. After 10–12 sessions (with no lengthy gaps between them), you will see for yourself how effective this heat-acclimatization strategy can be…

With the group, we use an alternative approach by taking hot baths after exercise to better tolerate humid heat. The advantage of a post-exercise hot bath is that it does not interfere with training and is easy to incorporate into preparation. To achieve full heat acclimatization, it is important to raise both core body temperature and skin temperature. Taking a hot bath after a session allows this combined elevation of core body and skin temperature. Heat cannot dissipate in the humid heat of the bath, which helps improve the specific mechanisms for acclimatizing to humid heat.

5. The tapering approach

Tapering is a strategy that involves manipulating training-load volume and intensity to reduce training-induced fatigue without losing the adaptations that were hard-earned.

The reduction in training load during the tapering phase will reinforce physiological adaptation at the molecular and cellular levels, as well as psychologically.

The various scientific studies on the subject recommend tapering periods of between 4 and 28 days (Mujika & al, 1996; Mujika & al, 2002), including a progressive reduction in training volume, maintenance of training frequency, and a gradual reduction in intensity.

But tapering is above all a personal matter, since every body reacts differently. You need to listen to the athlete and understand your own reactions in order to individualize this highly complex period. 

Indeed, for some athletes, care must be taken to maintain a certain level of training load so they can reach their peak on race day, whereas for others, the training load must be drastically reduced during the final week so they can mentally and physically recharge. The tapering approach is also strongly correlated with the athlete’s average training load volume over the preceding months. When an athlete is accustomed to training 2 to 3 times a day at a high volume, the taper will be shorter than for an athlete with a lower training volume. The key element of the tapering period will above all be precise control of training intensities during the final 7 days and monitoring the regulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) by tracking changes in HRV and wellness. 

It is important to understand that the psychological aspect is an important factor to consider. The athlete must feel good in the final days before the goal event to have confidence in their abilities. Saw & al. (2015) analyzed 56 studies on the subject of training load monitoring. The findings show that monitoring the athlete’s well-being (wellness) is essential for guiding training and the tapering phase. 

6. Conclusion

The different points discussed in this article (pacing, nutrition strategy, jet lag management, heat acclimatization, and tapering) should help the athlete achieve their best performance at the Hawaii IM, as well as in races with an identical format. Other elements were not mentioned but are important to consider: 

  • HRV-guided training
  • Biological monitoring with hemoglobin measurement
  • Hyperhydration
  • Aerodynamic optimization
  • Reduction of endogenous heat

 

This article was written by Karoly Spy, a coach specializing in endurance sports.
  • Founder of KS-Training in 2007 to support athletes in their performance goals
  • Founder of the GUTAÏ Training application (2016-2021)
  • Coach trainer
  • Technical Advisor for the Franche-Comté Triathlon League (2005-2007) and the Provence-Alpes Triathlon League (2007-2012)
  • Athletics club coach (Vitrolles, OM Athlé, SCO) and Triathlon club coach

Visit his website: https://ksendurancetraining.com/ 

Discover the original article HERE.

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