"rate limiting" for a triathlete

Triathlon Forum
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I have been on a little journey lately to explore what is the “rate limiting factor” for triathlon performance. This little journey has specificly lead me to the idea of “fatigue”. Due to my nature, I’ve found myself exploring the scientific literature, but I’ve also tried to think “non-scientifically” too and picked up some books that talk about experiences.

Anyway - I wanted to post the question to slowtwitchers and see what ideas / thoughts came out. (There was a thread the other day that made me think this would be a great place to explore further).

Question #1: So what is the “rate limiting factor” for triathlon performance?

One conclusion that I’ve come to is that a major factor for many age-groupers is “time”. Lack of time generally equals lack of training. And lack of training results in the lowered race performance. So, most of us are not willing to give up familiy life or able to give up work to 100% indulge ourselves selfishly into triathlon. But let’s pretend we can and ask:

Question #2: If time for training is not our “limiter”, what is the “rate limiting factor” for triathlon performance?

To specifically bring up a couple papers that I’m trying to blend into my thoughts, here are the last two I’ve read.

Noakes TD, St. Clair Gibson A, Lambest EV. From catastrophe to complexity: a novel model integrative central neural regulation of effort and fatigue during exercise in humans. Br J Sports Med 2004;38:511-14.

Weir JP, Beck TW, Cramer JT, Housh TJ. Is fatigue all in your head? A critical review of the central governor model. Br J Sports Med 2006; 40:573-586.

→ having read Lore of Running, I found myself intrigued by Noakes’ central govenor model theory and how it could apply to endurance training, but I have also had two of the authors of the second paper in my educational history and respect their academic integrity. Here’s a link to articles at google scholoar.

Another thought that I’ve had on fatigue, moving away from the academic was some ideas from the book Deep Survival. I find it interesting that in this book the author mentions that fatigue (during suvival situations) is not something that can be defined physically, but is more like a “spiritual collapse”.

All interesting information and valuable to a person’s approach in racing and training. Before I bias the discussion with my views any more, I’ll stop.

Share you insight, I’m interested in any angle that one can provide.

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Mmm reaction kinetics, good times good times.

In the sense of race day limiters, I think you’ll find that the limiting factor is different for different distances and sometimes different people.

Noakes’ central governor model seems to be an attempt to wrap everything together into a unified fatigue theory. I don’t know enough about the theory to say whether it is good or not.

I’ll qualify all this with an “I think” and would be happy to hear others opinions.

In shorter races it seems like the rate limiter is lowered pH in muscles that makes them not contract. I know that has to so with anaerobic metabolism but the role of lactate in the whole thing seems rather nuanced.

However at some point and at some length of race the limiter turns into nutrition, can you keep enough calories in your to keep the blood sugar level high enough so that your brain keeps working correctly. In these races we naturally stay away from the higher intensities that lower the muscle pH. Well, if we’re smart we do.

Them perhaps at a later point there is an unknown factor, where calories are high enough but your muscles are oterhwise done for reasons not entirely clear to me.

As far as expanding into limiters in a larger sense, time is certainl yone, but then you have the issues for self coached and coaches of determining where a person’s physical limiters are and whether they can be addressed.

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I’ve read all of the studies referenced in Noakes’ book and I’ve got to say, to me, it seems like a semantic “chicken and the egg” argument, i.e. do peripheral factors (muscle damage, empty glycogen stores etc) cause the brain to recruit fewer muscle fibers or does the “Central Governor” respond to fatigue independent of these physiological factors?

I know that Noakes cites some studies that illustrate fatigue independent of these factors but there is always a common sense reason, e.g. he throws in some studies on sprint performance. Of course the mechanisms will be different there (?!)

Maybe (as some STers have suggested), I’m simply not getting it, but I’m yet to hear any theoretical elaboration that has made the concept of these independent sources of Neuro-muscular fatigue any clearer.

In the mean time, I, like you, am much more interested in real world limiters. Hence the survey, I am currently putting together a multiple regression formula that will better explain what factors are significant in tri performance.

My hunch is that the limiters will be: Motivation, time, glycogen replenishment (w/ dietary implications) & connective tissue integrity. Honestly, I don’t think most folks make it past limiter 1.

Alan

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Them perhaps at a later point there is an unknown factor, where calories are high enough but your muscles are oterhwise done for reasons not entirely clear to me.

As far as expanding into limiters in a larger sense, time is certainl yone, but then you have the issues for self coached and coaches of determining where a person’s physical limiters are and whether they can be addressed.

I think that the “later point there is an unkown factor” is what interests me right now. I feel that I had this experience during my spring '06 marathon. I ate right, had the appropriate fitness to meet my goal, but wasn’t ready for the destruction that my legs had. Even though this wasn’t my first day at the rodeo.

I determined that I just didn’t run enough. (Always the answer right??) But that experience made me interested in some ideas/concepts in run training / racing such as Bobby McGee’s run /walk strategies. And the thoughts on muscle activation later in a race. Still searching for my thoughts on that tough.

The **“determining where a person’s physical limiters” **are is also a major “limiter” for an athlete race performance, I believe. It is just too easy and too much fun to continue to do what you are good at and too much work to improve what you suck at. At least that is my personal experience. Working on that this winter.

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In the mean time, I, like you, am much more interested in real world limiters. Hence the survey, I am currently putting together a multiple regression formula that will better explain what factors are significant in tri performance.

My hunch is that the limiters will be: Motivation, time, glycogen replenishment (w/ dietary implications) & connective tissue integrity. Honestly, I don’t think most folks make it past limiter 1.

Alan

I will be interested in the survey results. An interesting project, I’m sure.

“Motivation” - I do find this “limiter” coming up regularly. The lack of motivation is generally in regards to the work that has to be done to accomplish a goal. There rarely is a lack of motivation regarding the goal. Which leads to the thought of “what kind of short-cut can you find so that I can still meet my goal” – my honest internal answer is “none”. But that places me at a crossroads, do I change my goals or do I find the effort / energy / time / etc. to make my goal possible.

It’s amazing how often I’ll still believe that both are possible. Lying to myself seems so easy.

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“Motivation” - I do find this “limiter” coming up regularly. The lack of motivation is generally in regards to the work that has to be done to accomplish a goal. There rarely is a lack of motivation regarding the goal. Which leads to the thought of “what kind of short-cut can you find so that I can still meet my goal” – my honest internal answer is “none”. But that places me at a crossroads, do I change my goals or do I find the effort / energy / time / etc. to make my goal possible.

It’s amazing how often I’ll still believe that both are possible. Lying to myself seems so easy.