Apr 1, 2022
Our interview guests this week are A'nna Roby and Jordan Jones. Jordan is a former pro triathlete and does work for Athlete Blood Test. A'nna Roby has a PhD in Nutrition and is Athlete Blood Test's Chief Researcher.
It's also a huge race weekend with the first 70.3 North America races.
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In Today's Show
Interview - A'nna Roby and Jordon Jones
Jordan Jones is from Medford Massachusetts, went to Boston University and currently lives in Steamboat, CO. He is owner of Powder7 Ski shop in Golden, CO. He is a proud father of now 3 children with his latest arrival just two weeks ago.
A'nna Roby earned her PhD at Cornell University and is the Chief Researcher at Athlete Blood Test. PhD, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, licensed Dietitian, certified Personal Trainer.
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Endurance News:
The race takes place on Saturday 2 April 2022 with the opening 1.9km swim at Oceanside Harbour.
The Pro race will start at 0640 local time. That corresponds to 1440 in the UK, 1540 CET and 0940 Eastern Time.
The race will be broadcast live, with the event the first of 11 IRONMAN 70.3 events to be broadcast in 2022 in a new partnership with Outside TV. You will be able to watch for free via web, mobile or connected TV app.
PRO Men
Let’s kick off with the triathlon racing return of Alistair Brownlee. Not for the first time in his career, it’s been a long road back from injury and surgery for the two-time Olympic Champion.
Lionel Sanders is no stranger to this race – he went 3rd / 1st / 1st / 2nd between 2015 and 2018 – and is on a similar road to Brownlee for the IRONMAN World Championship St George. Whatever happens during the swim and bike, he’s expecting this one to come down to the late stages of the run… and is very confident of where his form is at for that final discipline.
Ben Kanute must be a strong contender, having won the last two editions. He has already raced well this year – third at CLASH Miami – and will surely be better here as a result of that. He’s already said that Oceanside is an event he is excited for.
Sam Long, the winner in Miami, is on the start list but after his impressive start to the year he is seemingly set to skip this one and fully focus on prep for St. George. Jason West, who finished second in Miami (and was fifth last year), will race however. No thoughts of May 7 for him however.
Opening his season here will be Rudy Von Berg, who we spoke to at length earlier in the year. He also knows the race well, racing fifth in 2018 and second in 2019, and he is rarely far from the podium in any race. If he’s in contention in the late stages of the run too, watch out as he typically has an extra gear over the closing kilometres if needed.
Rudy is another athlete not thinking about St George – though he will make his full-distance debut at IRONMAN France later this year.
Add in Sam Appleton, Jackson Laundry, Matt Hanson, Andreas Dreitz, David McNamee, Bart Aernouts and more and you have what will be perhaps the deepest field we will see this side of St George.
PRO Women
Just as with the men’s race, we have both a stellar cast of talent and an intriguing mix with some athletes looking towards St George and others fully intent on spoiling their plans.
Daniela Ryf has five World Championship titles to her name over this distance, which in years past would make her the odds-on favourite for the win. She took top spot on the podium here in 2019.
Second to Laura Philipp at IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai earlier this month was a strong start to Daniela’s year, but not quite enough as yet to think she is back to her absolute brilliant and almost unbeatable best. Will this be another step towards that status? That is one of the most interesting sub-plots of this event.
We will see something new from Taylor Knibb this week – she’s got a TT bike! It’s not as though her road bike was seemingly holding her back in 2021 to be fair, where she earned a World Championship bronze medal in only her second 70.3 race start, as well as that impressive display at the Collins Cup. Oh, and an Olympic Games silver medal was pretty good too.
Still a youngster in triathlon terms, how will a bit more planning before that first race (and the new bike) impact her performance in 2022?
Just as with the men, we have the defending champion racing here in the shape of Canadian star Paula Findlay. She was in a class of her own on the bike in October, and reflecting back on that hugely impressive PTO 2020 Championship victory in December 2020, she is strong across all three disciplines. At her best, that makes her tough for anyone to beat.
Holly Lawrence (2017) and Heather Jackson (2015 and 2013) add to the previous winners set to race on Saturday, and both have multiple World Championship podium finishes on their records, Lawrence of course taking the IRONMAN 70.3 title in 2016.
Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle made seemingly light work of CLASH Miami recently as everyone around her was melting in the baking Florida heat, while Skye Moench was an impressive sixth at the 70.3 World Championship and Jackie Hering was just one place behind her in Utah. They will all add further quality to what should be a fantastic race.
That’s far from a complete list of podium contenders either – don’t miss it.
You can find the full Pro start list here.
Prize Money: What’s on the line?
The prize purse on offer this weekend is $50,000 – with each of the winners collecting a $7,500 share of that total
In addition to money, there will be a total of six qualifying slots (three MPRO / three FPRO) for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St George in late October 2022.
The total funds will be paid eight-deep, as follows:
$7,500
$5,000
$3,750
$3,000
$2,000
$1,500
$1,250
$1,000
IRONMAN 70.3 Texas in Galveston - Beachside Best
Race with us at Memorial Hermann IRONMAN 70.3 Texas and experience the best of both worlds, blending together a PR chasers dream course with a beachside bliss atmosphere. Athletes kick off their day with a protected, saltwater swim in the Bay at Moody Gardens, transition to a flat and fast bike course along the Texas Gulf Coast, and cap it off with a spectator-filled run. As athletes race, friends and family can experience the famous local beaches, iconic Moody Gardens, and Pleasure Pier. Beaches, boardwalks, and your personal best await you at Memorial Hermann IRONMAN 70.3 Texas.
What's New in the 303:
There Is Very Little Information Out There For Athletes With Migraine
By Jessica McWhirt
I’ve been researching for the past several weeks to find information for athletes with Migraine. But not only Migraine, athletes with fatigue and dizziness, and how to train and race while living with a chronic illness or disease.
There are plenty of lists of famous athletes and Olympians who have migraine: Amanda Beard, Steve Kerr, Ian Thorpe, Dwyane Wade. But these articles rarely go into the details of how these athletes manage the sometimes debilitating effects of Migraine. We just know that they have. It’s not helpful.
The Cleveland Clinic says, “an exertional headache occurs when an
activity causes veins and arteries to expand to allow more blood
flow. That expansion and increased blood pressure create pressure
in the skull, which causes the pain.”
Without further ado, here are some recommendations by sites, my commentary on it, and some things I do in a vain attempt to reduce the severity of the exercise-induced headaches I get after hard efforts, long efforts, or races
WHAT MIGRAINE CANADA SUGGESTS
When I actually found an article with tips for athletes with Migraine, I’ve either been doing the suggestion already, I won’t do it, or it isn’t even applicable. Migraine Canada suggests the following:
Stick to a schedule
Eat and sleep at regular times
Exercise regularly
Eat a healthy diet
Find factors that are triggering the Migraine (light sensitivity = wear sunglasses; noise sensitivity = wear earplugs)
What I do
While these all make sense for even someone who doesn’t have Migraine, what happens if you already have a daily headache and strenuous exercise makes it worse? Because I do. What if exercise, is in fact, the trigger? Because it is for me. And when you are sticking to a schedule, eating regularly and healthily, and getting enough sleep, then what? Yes, I do these things.
I regularly go to bed around 9:00 PM and wake up around 5:30 AM. Lately, I’ve been trying to eat 6 small meals every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Before that, I’d eat 3 meals every 4ish hours. “Exercising regularly” varies between people, but I workout 6 days per week and one day is reserved for rest and yoga. I try to make sure my diet consists mostly of whole, real foods. So, food that doesn’t have a ton of weird ingredients listed or if you left it outside the fridge for too long, it’ll go bad.
If you also do all these things, and you still have headaches, there are more things to try, so keep reading.
WHAT NEW YORK HEADACHE CENTER SAYS
Another article (I emailed them about the misspelled title already) differentiates between exertional headaches and effort-induced headaches. Exertional headaches are caused by lifting, pushing, or pulling. They list sex, coughing, sneezing, or straining to shit as some of the triggers for an exertional headache.
Effort-induced headaches are caused by aerobic activities like running, swimming, cycling, etc. They think that if you’re dehydrated, hypoglycemic, or overheated, this can result in an effort-induced headache. The authors also believe if you’re low in Magnesium then this would also contribute to effort-induced headaches. Their recommendations were:
To take an NSAID an hour prior to the activity
Get a prescription for Indomethacin
Do a proper warm-up and cool-down
What I do
While taking an NSAID every once in a while won’t cause much harm, taking one every time before a strenuous workout will actually cause a rebound headache. This is when you essentially become dependent on the NSAID. When the pain-relieving effects wear off, you take another one and another one and another one.
A New Kind of Gravel Bike Festival in Elbert County
If you love biking, particularly on quiet gravel roads and dirt trails maybe combine it with a family oriented camping event complete with music, food, beer, the Mad Gravel on Memorial Day weekend might be for you. Rattler Racing will host the second annual Mad Gravel race at the picturesque Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch in Elbert County, Colorado on Saturday, May 28th, Sunday, May 29th and Monday, May 30th, 2022. Mad Gravel is now a full-on 3-day weekend event with a little something for everyone.
Saturday will be a fast and furious circuit race within the boundaries of the Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch. Runners also get to enjoy most of the same course on a 5K trail course before the cyclists take off. Look for some great winding gravel roads, double track, and a mix of twisty single-track sections. Sunday is the biggie. Racers and riders have the option to pick one of three epic routes along the eastern Colorado slope. Monday including a sweet mountain bike course highlighting the great trails within the ranch. Participants will get to take in amazing views of Colorado’s high 14’ers, and enjoy an optimum vantage point of the entire front range. All three days of Mad Gravel are fully supported with multiple aid stations.
Mad Gravel 2022 has been through many iterations. There aren’t many gravel events where you get to try your hand at a circuit race the day before the big event. Says race director Dave Muscianisi, “In scouting out our mountain bike course last November, we thought portions of that course would be perfect for a gravel circuit. And with a circuit race already set up, how about starting the weekend with a trail run? And, since we have 3 days to work with, let’s get the MGXC mountain bike race going on Monday. Why? Because we can.”
Video of the Week
Lance Armstrong Passed In Last Second of Ironman Texas 70.3
Upcoming Guests
Andy Potts and Daniel Brienza of APRacing
Closing:
Thanks again for listening in this week. Please be sure to follow us @303endurance and of course go to iTunes and give us a rating and a comment. We'd really appreciate it!
Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!