The Glycemic Index in Sportby the Fuel Coach, Ellen Coleman
The glycemic index (GI) provides a way to rank carbohydrate-rich foods according to the blood glucose response following their intake. The GI is calculated by measuring the incremental area under the blood glucose curve following ingestion of a test food (glucose or white bread) providing 50 g of carbohydrate compared with the area under the blood glucose curve following an equal carbohydrate intake from the reference food. All tests are conducted after an overnight fast (1).
The GI reflects the rate of digestion and absorption of a
carbohydrate-rich food. Thus, the GI is influenced by: the food
form (including particle size, presence of intact grains, texture,
and viscosity); the degree of food processing and cooking; the
presence of fructose or lactose (both have a low GI); the ratio of
amylopectin and amylose in starch (amylose has a slower rate of
digestion); starch-protein or starch-fat interactions; and the
presence of antinutrients such as phytates and lectins (1).
Generally, foods are divided into those that have a high GI
(glucose, bread, potatoes, breakfast cereal, sports drinks), a
moderate GI (sucrose, soft drinks, oats, tropical fruits such as
bananas and mangos), or a low GI (fructose, milk, yogurt, lentils,
pasta, cold climate fruits such as apples and oranges). Tables of
the GI of a large number of foods have been published
internationally (2).
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How Hard Should you Train?
Bike and Run Pacing: Thoughts on how ‘hard’ should you train
By Coach Mike Ricci, USAT Level II Coach
Many athletes have a hard time with regard
to intensity. We all work hard in our daily lives, and it’s only
natural to want to work hard at being a better athlete. Working
hard at doing the right things is far different then working too
hard in an aerobic sense. How hard should you train on a daily
basis? Of course this depend on what time of year it is, what
distance you are training for, and of course what your coach has
on your schedule.
When I write a workout and I give
an athlete a ‘Zone1-2’ workout, I
expect the athlete to find the happy
medium and train at a pace they
could sustain all day. What I usually
get when I check over a log is “...I
went out too hard, and well I
bonked...” or “...I was much faster
on the first hour of my ride and
then I kind of faded...”
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Going Mental!
By the Mental Toughness Coach, Kaye McClaren
We all say “The race is 90% mental!” but what
are these, quote-unquote, mental skills anyway?
Athletes easily respond to the tangible (HR,
cadence, etc.), yet don’t really understand how
to address this fluffy mental stuff. We all go to
tri-chat sites where the threads go on and on about wattage and
AeT. This is fabulous information – if - (a BIG if) - you have clarity
to use it when your mind feels threatened and turns on you
during a killer day. What good is paying a triathlon guru all this
cash for his scrupulous (and brilliantly colored) training plans if
your anxiety about the swim start interferes with your focus in
packing those dreaded transition bags? What good is maintaining
a Zone 2 HR on the bike if your legs start listening to your-brainturned-
adversary when it screams “this hurts too much I have to
stop” on the run? What if you could train your legs not to listen?
Better yet, what if you could train your brain not to turn against
your body when it is feeling threatened in the first place? Just
think about how empowering all that tri-chat information would
be then.
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