How to Prepare for an Ironman Race

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In this Mar 14, 2012 free audio podcast: How Liposuction Makes You Fat. Also: dealing with a chronic calf sprain, what is P.A.P training, can you create glycogen from fat and protein, are unsoaked nuts and seeds a problem, the Maffetone vs. the Triathlon Dominator heart rate zones, distances for long triathlon training sessions, and reasons for fat loss resistance.

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Special Announcements:

Thailand Adventure - Join Ben in Thailand this winter for the triathlon adventure of a lifetime at the Laguna Phuket Triathlon and the Asia Pacific 70.3 Triathlon! Get all the details at www.pacificfit.net

TrainingPeaks Webinar - March 15th @ 1:00pm MST / 3:00pm EST: "Eating For Endurance" with Ben Greenfield. In this webinar, sports nutritionist Ben Greenfield will teach about proper endurance nutrition for anyone preparing for a long distance event; trail runners, triathletes, adventure racers, cyclists, paddlers, and epic hikers. You’ll learn how to fuel before, during and after your event, and set yourself up for success by eating smart!

Call out for Testimonials - Are you someone who was really out of shape (overweight, unable to climb stairs, experiencing shortness of breath, dangerously high blood pressure, etc…)? Did you train/rehab with Ben’s help and advice to go on to race a triathlon, marathon or ironman? If you are, email Ben a testimonial at ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com and you could be featured in his next book!

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Coming this Friday - an interview with Dr. Fletcher about how something called neural communication can make or break your performance.

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News Flashes:

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• Carob is a great alternative to chocolate. Compared to chocolate it has higher calcium count (three times as much), no caffeine content, nor fat, and presents your taste buds with a different experience. It's also high in Iron, Vitamin B, Phosphorus, Magnesium, fiber and protein.
• Top injury sites for the long distance triathletes includes lower back (17.9%), Achilles tendons (14.3%), and knees (14.2%). Among the short to intermediate distance triathletes, most injuries occurred in the knees (44%), calf (20%), hamstrings (20%), and lower back (20%).
• A group of healthy, active individuals were instructed to cut back on their activity for 3 consecutive days. What they found was that their blood sugar levels spiked 26% more than it normally would have, and that the spikes increased slightly over each successive day.

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Listener Q&A:

Audio Question from Jennifer: Is liposuction an option or a last resort?

Audio Question from Jake: 15 weeks out from Ironman with chronic calf strain.

Eric asks: I've been hearing a lot about P.A.P. training and was hoping you could help define what it is and how it may help endurance athletes.

Andrei asks: I keep hearing about how after an workout you have to eat to replenish the glycogen storage. Also, during a long training run or a race, you have to ingest carbs to top your glycogen storage. My question is if you can do this with fat or protein, not carbs. Can I just eat fat and protein after an workout to restore my glycogen levels? How about during the workout?

Hosanna asks: To what degree does eating unsoaked nuts, seeds affect the bioavailability of nutrients? I was eating a dried fruit, nut and seed mix daily as a significant portion of my diet until I read to limit intake substantially on the paleodietlifestyle website.

jeffyt01 wrote: I listened to your podcast with Phil Maffetone and was wondering what your thoughts are on his 180 formula vs how you lay out the heart rate training zones in your Dominator plan. Also, do you need to do more volume when using Maffetone's method?

Jack asks: In training for different tri distances, what distances you would recommend for a long swim, long ride and a long run? Also, what sort of bricking do you recommend most? I am especially interested in the Olympic tri distance.

Josh writes:I'm a cat 1 cyclist, really pushing myself this year to get some big results. I'm 25 years old, my coach has me doing some solid high intensity intervals and some longer endurance rides and my fitness is much higher than previous years. I supplement with 4000 IU of vitamin D, a multi, fish oil, and EPO-boost daily. As you know, watts per kilo is the gold measurement of fitness in the sport. My coach and I are obviously working to bring the watts up, but I'm struggling to get the weight down. I've been stuck around 170-173 lbs and 10%ish BF forever, I'm an all rounder type cyclist and 5'11"!!!! It's getting frustrating. I can't seem to break through that barrier. I've counted calories, went paleo over the last few years. I'm still gluten free, and was pretty pleased to find that I was following your food pyramid pretty decently before you publishing it. I've had blood work done, and everything is normal. Just can't figure out how to lose the stubborn weight so I can down to 7-8% for my first races. I can't get that "vacuumed out look" like other guys in the sport. I have some stubborn fat around my stomach I think is the problem. I used a body metrix system also. Any suggestions?

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