Break Your Limits

As alluded to by Raymond in an earlier post, I am extremely happy to be able to let you know of a new sponsorship arrangement that I have developed with Hornet Juice. Hornet Juice is a sports drink containing amino acids that you take before, during and after training to give you greater energy, endurance and improved recovery time. The key to Hornet Juice is that it works as a trigger for the oxidation of fat which can then provide you with an abundant source of long lasting energy – perfect for Ironman training and racing as well as any other endurance events.  

The reason I am so happy to announce this is because I have found Hornet Juice to be a really great product and one that I would use whether being sponsored or not. It was only after I had written to Hornet Juice telling them of how much I liked their drink that they then agreed to sponsor me.

Long time readers of my blog will know that ever since I started my journey to Ironman France many months ago that the biggest problem I faced was becoming more efficient on the bike and in the run.  For those that don’t know, the story in a nutshell is this:  In December 2009, I was tested for my physical capacities for the bike and run. The test results showed that I had some good strength and fitness in both disciplines but that I was way too over-reliant on glucose (or carbohydrate) stores to power me. The bad news with this is that racing an Ironman is about being as efficient as possible.

At the start of an Ironman you have a full tank of fuel in the form of glucose but this tank gets depleted rapidly throughout the day and it is simply not possible to replace all that is burned through consumption. This is why one of the keys to Ironman performance is in maximising your body’s ability to burn fats. Gram for gram, fats contain far more fuel than carbohydrates so it is critical to be able to access this vast fuel source.

As I started my journey to becoming more efficient I did a lot of research and as a result I made many changes to the way I trained and what I ate and drank. One of those changes was that I started using Hornet Juice.

Once I had started using Hornet Juice I noticed that I felt a lot stronger on long rides and this was especially so in the last one to two hours of a five or six hour bike session. Instead of fading to a withering mess on wheels in the dying kilometres, I noticed that I always felt I could keep riding strong for, well almost forever. I also noticed that using Hornet Juice helped me recover so much better and worked really well in avoiding the muscle soreness that comes the day after a hard session.

So I had this feeling that Hornet Juice was working well for me. But a few things I noticed recently really prove the point in my mind of just how good the product is.

I used Hornet Juice during Ironman France and in my post-race analysis of my performance I noticed that relative to my competitors, I performed very well on the bike during the final 60 kilometres. To me this indicates that I had plenty of energy left in the latter portion of the bike leg while others were rapidly running out.

Last week I underwent another physical capacity test on the bike. In my first test in December 2009, we found that the point at which my body switched from being a predominant fat burner to an inefficient glucose burner was at about 225 watts. In the test of last week, we found that instead of this switch happening at 225 watts it now happens at 375 watts. This means that I can now ride up to an intensity of 375 watts all the while my body is efficiently burning fats as its predominant fuel source thus sparing precious glucose stores and helping them last longer.

No doubt that there is a number of reasons behind these results but I can confidently say that the use of Hornet Juice is one of the more critical factors that brought about these outcomes.

So, I have had some great success with Hornet Juice. If you are looking for something to give you a bit of performance boost then I encourage you to give it a go. If you do, please let me know how you go. I would love to hear your story. Also, please get in touch if you have any questions. I am happy to help where possible.

Check out www.hornetjuice.com

Thanks for reading and happy training.

As the City to Surf looms, a mere three weeks away, be sure to get your entries in. Events include the Marathon, Half Marathon, 11km Wheelchair, 12km & 4km.

For those wanting to run with a team, I have registered the Break Your Limits Corporate Team.

All are welcome over any distance!

Go to http://www.citytosurf.activ.asn.au and once you click Register, search for the Break Your Limits team and we’ll see you at the start & finish lines!

Check this interview after he crashed on stage 16 of this years tour..

Tom – Question – How do you get faster..?

Ray – Answer – Ride like superman!

After ‘Laying Low’ over the weekend and thinking that the Marathon is all but over, it was time to get back on the horse so to speak and get the body moving…

Safe to say now, that I have coughed, spluttered and sneezed more than my fair share of mucous. With that said, a few rides and runs have been completed and although not performing at 100%, I don’t understand how people can just ‘do nothing’, especially given the weather of late.

This weekend will see the running of the Perth Half Marathon and quite a few of the crew are heading down to race. I’ll be heading down as part of my ‘long run’, the plan is to start at the gym, do the Half and run back. A good mileage builder with a little bit of speed thrown in for good measure. We should see quite a few people in this race given the City to Surf is only 3 weeks away. The last good solid hitout before race day.

It’s been great to see the crew turning out for the 2XU morning run. With the sun rising early and weather being magnificent it is just the best way to start the day… I encourage you all to come out and give it a go!

New shirts have been delivered so we now have the full range back in stock. Jerseys are well, still on the way, if someone knows the meaning of ‘way’ then the arrival time is on that day. In other words when the arrive, I will let you know. Now over a week behind!

That’s about it for now, but, finally spoke to Bill last night and watch this space for a new nutrition company to be sponsoring the big man himself!

Keep training!

There has been a course change for the Perth Half Marathon this weekend due to path upgrades near the Narrows Bridge. Below is the new course:

Have been down South this weekend on a training trip with the Desborough Accountants crew and came down with a plan to get in some good kms.

Unfortunately have come down with the dreaded lurgy and after an easy 1 hour run yesterday the body has decided a rest is in order and as such have had to lay low and sit and watch the ocean.

Quite frustrating to be honest but resting now is better than having a longer rest later, afterall, the fitness won’t go away and Dunsborough will always be the fantastic place it is!

Just a reminder to get the registrations in for the Half Marathon next weekend, quite a few of the crew will be heading down, so come down and check it out.

A final quote from the balcony in Dunsborough…(via Emil Zapotek)

“We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.”

Let’s see, the World Cup is over, the Tour is over and the sleep patterns are slowly finding there way back to normal…With that said though you can only but wonder how we managed to fit it all in.

We’re still on track for the City to Surf Marathon and the Melbourne Marathon guys & girls are going great guns… If anything in BYL land is to change then it will be a few more regular updates on the site.

A few races to watch out for in August -

• 8th August – Perth Half Marathon
• 29th August – City to Surf 12k, Half & Full Marathon

A few quick points -

1. New Elite Run Tops are in at the printers. For those running out of dry clothes in winter, then this is your perfect chance to get more gear! Thanks to the guys @ 2XU Subiaco, we managed to get a great buy on the Super Elite Range, same colour but better breathing material!
2. Bike Jerseys are nearly here, 1 week to go for delivery and a special launch event @ 2XU Subiaco! Stay tuned!
3. A new page will be added shortly to the Break Your Limits home. Inspired by Gumtree & EBay (and to Michael for the idea), you’ll be able to pickup your favourite BYL gear. Gear available will include Shirts / Singlets / Compression Socks and K~Swiss Shoes!

That’s it for now, but stay tuned for an interview with our very own Mitch Anderson!

Photo by Rob Wilmott, TDF.

During this years Tour De France there is a man who wont give up. Meet Jens Voigt. A tour legend and one who will do his utmost for him team, Saxo Bank. Last year Jens crashed and missed out on the opportunity to finish the tour. This year, he crashed again on one of this epic stages. Somehow I don’t think he wont be finishing -

This is an exert from the bicycling.com website.

I came over the top only 20 seconds down on the front group, but about 2 kilometers into the descent my front tire blew and I thought, “Oh God,” and I went down. Just one year after my horrible crash, and there I was tumbling on another mountain descent. And let me tell you, about the only place that feels good right now is my right ankle. The rest of me is all road rash. Plus I’ve got five stitches in my left elbow and then there are some ribs that are not in the right place! I may have to get x-rays, but I hate x-rays (the radiation), and plus, if I’ve got a fractured rib, what can anyone do about it?

The worst thing of all was that I almost got forced out of the Tour for a second year in a row. The problem was that the first team car was behind Andy Schleck, and the second had decided to go up ahead to hand out water bottles at the foot of the next climb. As a result I had no bike, because mine was shattered.

So then the broom wagon pulled up and was like, “Do you want to just get in?” And I said, “Oh no, I don’t need YOU!” But there I am with blood spurting out my left elbow and no bike. Finally, the race organizers got me a bike, but it was this little yellow junior bike. It was way too small for me and even had old-fashioned toe-clip pedals. But that is the only way I could get down the mountain, so I had to ride it for like 15-20 kilometers until I finally got to a team car with my bike.

Then, I still had to get up to the grupetto. All I can say is that that desperate times need desperate measures, but I got up there. And once I did it was grupetto all day long.

Needless to say, I had plenty of time to come up with a fitting book of the day. It’s from the Disk World series by Terry Pratchett. In it, the protagonist is Conan the Barbarian, who is a 70-year-old who has just survived everything. At one point he, and his other old warrior friends capture this village, but then they find that they are surrounded by an army of tens of thousands, and his only reaction is, “Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!” And that’s the way I was today when I was lying on the ground. I just thought, “Oh no, I’m going to Paris this year, I’m going to Paris. There’s just no way you are going to get me out of this race for the second year in a row!”

It’s changed… check it…

Ray – where will BYL tentland be???