228 Ask Matt Anything on Racing - From Preparation to Performance

Jul 20, 2022

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Welcome to another "Ask Matt Anything" edition of the Purple Patch Podcast. In part 1 of our 2 part series of Q & A episodes on all topics related to racing, Matt answers your voicemails and emails on race preparation and practices.

In this installment, Matt answers your questions related to:

Integrating sufficient recovery into training
The constraints of metrics and how to move beyond them in your athletic performance
Implementing race day hydration
The logistics of fueling and hydrating on the move
Spotting chronic fatigue and the proper steps to righting the ship

Episode Timestamps

0:02-03:43 Welcome and Episode Introduction

3:43-Question 1 from Frederik: I heard you say that the three up one down training structure is not something you believe in. Is that something that applies to pro athletes? And does the answer change if you're talking about female athletes?

I have had athletes that have very successfully been able to accumulate three weeks of consistent training, and not start to overreach or not start to get too tired. But in the middle of the bell curve, I've seen that most athletes don't succeed with that recipe. And that's because quite simply, you can't beat physiology.

11:56-Question 2 from Jeff: I have a question about race execution for someone who may not really like using data. I'd rather be following general cues tied to RPE. Do you have any general guidelines to follow?

The power and the metrics, whether you use heart rate, whether you use power, whether you use pace on the run, they're really valuable. They're great to have, but they shouldn't be driving the ship. What should be driving the ship is you, your intuition.

18:57-Question 3 from Les: I'm curious to know your thoughts on race day hydration. My bike is set up to carry a 750 mil bottle between my aero bars and two more behind my seat and I'll need about one bottle an hour or so I'm thinking for Ironman Canada. What are your thoughts on how much to carry versus trying to mix it along the way with tablets?

I would probably lead with one bottle behind, one up front and then you are refilling your chamber on an ongoing basis at the front torpedo system with water. But then having on the top of your handlebars or in your pockets, even on your thigh underneath your race suit, you might have the sachets of precision that you can rip pour into the chamber before you get to an aid station and then squeeze and dump water over the top of it so that you fill in the concentration.

26:29-Question 4 from Richard: One thing that's taken many minutes of my time is the logistics of bike aid stations. I've got dialed into a new hydration plan. I take electrolytes to add to the water but need to continually stop and sort things out on the bike, grab more nutrition and stash it somewhere. It feels a shame to spend more than five minutes stationary over an Ironman bike leg, but I can't figure out how else to do it.

I would really recommend you have a torpedo at the front of the bike. That can really be a game changer for logistics and carriage because you can then grab water as you're in flight, slowing down being very safe, keeping that hand supple on the bar, grab the water and refill while you're on the go, dump that water bottle away, and now you've got a new reservoir.

31:43-Question 5 from Brian: Is it possible to still have occasional good races despite being in a state of chronic fatigue, and is it possible to lose touch with your level of fatigue?

So what we need to look at is how much long term damage is there? How much recuperation do you need? And then also a little bit of an objective review of what's the ultimate root of the problem? And you're not going to say oh, it was that it was my nutrition, it was my training program, it was my lack of recovery, because it's always more holistic than that.

Ask Matt Anything! Head to the Podcast Page at PurplePatchFitness.com/podcast and leave a concise question for Matt. Tell us your name, where you're from, and ask your question. We'll get to as many as we can in future episodes.

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