This is part of a journey and is neither the beginning nor the end. I am a student, not the law. I know a little bit about a little bit, so leave your comments below…

When you click that eating local, seasonal, ethical food, you just get “it”. You feel the difference, know the difference and value the choice. You make the decision to work a little harder to source your food because it’s ethical, clean food. You sacrifice time to source the right farms, the right butcher and possibly, the right wine maker. This is a journey for me. I am attempting to do the following:

1. Order fruit and vegetables from local suppliers.
2. Use seasonal fruit and vegetables only.
3. Choose local suppliers who I trust to get their food from ethical producers.
4. Drink wine & beer from farms and brewers who treat their staff with respect and farm the land with a vision for the future.

I eat meat. Sure, at home we toy with Vegetarian meals as a commitment to explore options and use creativity to spice it up a little. But I love meat.

However, I choose to buy meat from an ethical butcher, whose commitment to finding farmers who are ethical is stellar at a minimum.

I eat less meat than ever before. Coming from the Transvaal, being an ex swimmer, more was more growing up. I realise that eating meat is taxing on my system at times, especially when I eat loads of red meat, so I am careful, but it’s one of those things I truly enjoy, like a great red wine. Where you draw your line in the sand is entirely up to you and I don’t judge. People will make assumptions and get up in your face for eating meat when their choose is to NOT eat meat. I draw the line at less meat, but ethical meat I trust.

Perhaps you follow the Slow Food Movement (click) or something similar. Perhaps Meat Free Mondays are your thing or you only drink Organic Wines as a lifestyle choice. As long as there is some sort of conscious behavior around the fuel you put in your belly…

It’s your source of energy, vitality and recovery.

So take it seriously!

Good food costs a little more, but with careful planning, a bit of compromise and a little less mindless spending, we can all make a plan to feel better, live better and be better.

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For about 18 months now, I have been toying with hydration levels and where my best performance lies. I found products that I raced well on when hydrated and products that I raced extremely well on when slightly dehydrated. The 2nd scenario is something I am now pursuing and only now that I am able to use Rehidrat Sport on a regular basis and able to control intake of a product that I trust 100%.

At O till O, Pete woke up with a troubled tummy. I had him on the Rehidrat Sport all morning, virtually shoving it into him for the first 4 hours. He came back like a superstar, moving faster in hour 8 than he did in hour 1. The Rehidrat was a key part of the equation (sure, some HTFU was had as well).

There are studies, like this, which point towards optimal hydration and then there are studies like this, which share my point of view more to the line. I think most of us over consume, especially on the shorter events.

For me, there are a few tactics to a successful re-hydration strategy for endurance sports:

1. Drink to thirst.
2. Practice target consumption levels in training for at least 6-8 weeks before the event.
3. At an Ironman, don’t drink at every aid station. Water in the mouth and spit it out.
4. Avoid the coke until as late as possible. Once you start, you can’t stop.
5. Use a product you like in hour 5, not only in hour 2.

I am finding that by going into races having upped my salts correctly, using Rehidrat Sport for a few days before the event (1 glass before I head for bed in the evenings), I am able to race with less worry about drinking all the time and I am getting better performances out of my body. Case in point was Knysna Xterra, where I raced without a juice bottle on the bike (it fell out 2km into the ride) and had my best Xterra ever.

Play with your strategy but make sure you are using the right product that you trust.

While you`re at it, read this great article on cramping.

Be smart and train your hydration strategy. It’s such a critical success factor for endurance sport.

This post was brought to you by:

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Last weekend was the 2 Oceans Half Marathon. Here is a quick synopsis of my race:

1:17:34 moving time. Great run considering the dodgy knee and sinus problems. I was super stoked even though I know there were a few minutes lost. Could well have been a smashing PB.

Really though, today I didn’t want to talk about the Garmin and its ability to capture the data. That is well documented here. I wanted to get into the gritty that is hydration and one of the most amazing lessons I have learned in the last few months. It goes to more than the Rehidrat Sport I am using. Let’s touch that first, though. I am one of the ambassadors for Rehidrat Sport. I am not here to punt their product, even though I believe it’s an incredible product.

For me, the label and the brand are not what got me interested in using the product. It was the product and the idea on a bigger picture for nutrition. For years we were fed the idea of sugary drinks with loads of stimulants to keep us buzzing throughout the race, as well as during training. After reading about athletes breaking down, having issues with their digestive systems, etc and having experience with some of the effects of continuous sugar spikes, I wanted to go the healthier route.

But I didn’t stop with sports drinks. I cut out sugar in my muesli, coffee, avoided all sugary drinks and avoided the extra sugary fruits, foods, etc. Instead of drinking a coke when I was thirsty I would pack a sachet of Rehidat into a water bottle and have that.

I went from a gel and sugar spiked racing machine to a Rehidrat only racing machine. I took it into training. Before there was Rehidrat Sport, I opted to use normal Rehidrat in my water bottles. 2 sachets per 750ml. I found myself stronger for longer, more consistent and better recovered than before.

I believe that my limiting the sugar spikes, we are, as working athletes (non professionals), limiting the effects of stress on our bodies. This could be my experience alone, but this is what I am here to share, after all. I found I needed to eat less during rides and didn’t need to stuff my face when I got home. This resulted in a leaner, stronger body over the space of 4 months.

I found I slept better if I avoided sugar in the late afternoon as well.

But here is the kicker and the part which you should test in training, not only in races. Learn from your body. I learned to race a little dehydrated. The evidence out there points towards racing a little dehydrated for better performance. Not life threatening dehydrated but just a little thirsty. I spent hours learning where my body felt best versus what I was putting in and found a balance. I took this to races and found a performance increase I was not able to get when loaded with sugar.

Simply, my cravings for the sugar went away and I was able to control my hydration better, effectively increasing performance that way. So at 2 Oceans, I loaded up with Rehidrat the night before and in the morning. I raced 77 minutes with no coke, no gel. Only 1 sachet of water in my mouth, 2 over my head and 1 in the groin (I was heating up around 13km and this is the best place to put water to cool down) during the whole race. No cravings, no need for coke. I felt strong and managed to hold a super even pace most of the way, until the last kilometer when my knee was giving me serious pain.

Anybody out there have similar experiences? I am enjoying playing with this “optimal hydration levels” stuff and have found a tool which really works. I was humbled when they heard about it and wanted to associate with the Urban Ninja brand as I was already a massive fan of the product itself. Give it a try on your next ride.

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I have wanted to interview Dan for a while, having bought him a drink when he was underage in a dodgy bar in Madeira, many moons ago. It’s been a privilege to watch his rise through the ranks to being in my opinion, one of the finest multi sport athletes in the world. He is a thinker, a tinkerer and like me, mildly obsessive at times. These answers should convince you to watch his progress and learn from the details he presents to the world.

I may be one of the guys who understands your drive to get every nanomillimeter out of your body better than most. How much of a difference do you think body composition makes, even among the pro ranks, where differences are small and vary race to race?

My man, that’s a lengthy response with currently heated emotions you summon. Yes, at the top it seems to become ultimately specific. Perhaps the most relate-able example is a Contador vs Cancellara – both cyclists, both icons, both unbeatable when the playing field suits them.

The Xterra racing on the USA circuit is really varied, and often highlights strengths and weaknesses amongst the few at the top end. The series final was the past weekend, which including 3000ft of elevation gain on the bike alone. Which is as much climbing as Alp d’Huez. With remote transitions we hardly had any descent, making it a very course specific race. I was grumpy regarding all this, until fellow South African, Conrad Stoltz, who is not a climber either, biked 5minutes into the rest of us.

Reality is, we all have varied ability, and limitation in how much we can adjust them. I am still figuring my own capabilities, and am really curious to spend a season more focused on Ironman 70.3 racing. I believe my body and energy systems may be better suited to most 70.3 courses. I can only race a handful of events in a season, and being able to hand pick the courses and condition that best suit my ability is weighing odds to my favour.

Tell me/us about Boulder and why you have seemingly fallen in love with the place.

Boulder is the triathlon mecca of the USA. Especially for the long course triathletes. A tough generalization, but Ironman racing is the pinnacle of the triathlon niche in America. And all its A-list reside for all or part of the year in the small town nestled against the Colorado Rockies. Between the perfect weather and perfect bodies – there is plenty excellence and inspiration to feed off and become the best athlete you can.

Boulder is at 5400ft, but a quick drive and you’re running at 8500ft, or any longer ride can be done mostly on Peak to Peak highway, which again is undulating at 8000ft. There is rolling when going North-South, and flatlands when headed East. West has a variety of climbing to suit any session.

Beyond the triathlon circles its very similar to Stellenbosch. Small, a uni town, affluent, very sports orientated. And overwhelmingly hippy. I’ve not smelt such strong weed nor seen so many dreads on any of my travels. I do like how progressive town is – definitely a thinking man’s home with a active lifestyle as habit.

Working with fat oxidative rates and improving them is becoming slightly more trendy but I still find myself with blank faces when I approach smart people about it. Can you tell us your experience with working with fat oxidative rates for the body as well as where the limits and shortfalls lie?

Sure, I was trying to maximise my aerobic oxidation capacity this past summer. Forcing more and more of my energy to come from fat energy as opposed to carbohydrate energy which has lactate as a by-product. I am still a student of the game, and will always be it seems.

My feeling is that optimal diet is not such personal to individual athletes, but to individual athletes and their current race goals. I got incredibly efficient at aerobic exercise, which would have been golden had I been training for an Ironman. However, with 2h racing much time is spent at Threshold and even VO2 max, and I’m uncertain whether focus on fat oxidation should be primary or secondary.

Either way, I tipped over the edge, not for training too much volume, or eating too little, but for eating vary specifically and in specific patterns. Forcing my body into a state of hypoglycemia regularly. The hormones that respond to restoring normal blood sugar get desensitized and eventually a domino effect had me totally “hormonal” in bad way. Sure, thats an oversimplification, and lack protein was critical to the melt down, but trying to maximise fat oxidation laid the foundation to a collapse. At the same time, there is much benefit not just as an athlete but as an individual pursuing a state of well-being.

Good fats are beyond good. They’re essential. Sugar and stress is the enemy of health.

You are coming to the Big Show this year (Kona), to watch, work the expo and watch the race. Is it on your to-do list, or like Conrad, are you going to leave it to us “crazies”?

I have never felt more inspired to race Ironman some day, and especially to race Kona. I have spent the past four months very close to the inner Ironman elite here in Boulder, and could not resist the thinking that Ironman is normal and that Kona is the holy grail.

It may be years from now, but I will race and represent South Africa in Kona.

For Maui, what are your expectations this year after a bit of a melt down mid year? I know of a few pro’s who’ve had melt downs mid year and come back to win a world champs later in the year, across various sports. Where do you see your role in the race?

I’ve had one outing at Maui before, and am really excited to be returning two years later. Getting there, and getting to the finish is not to be taken for granted. I hope for a bit of magic, but I know how much better I can be, where I can still improve as a rounded athlete, and until such a time as me believing I am the best I can be, it is hard to believe I’ll be the best in the world.

I am swimming well, and riding is close. With some good legs on the day I’ll be close off the bike, in theory, and would gladly be surprised on the run. We’ll see.

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There you have it. Dan is someone who takes his profession extremely seriously, someone who I enjoy talking to and who I learn from every time we go for a bike ride (where I am merely hanging onto the back). We wish him luck for Xterra Worlds, but more importantly, we will be buying him a coffee in Kona to laugh at life. Follow him on Twitter for more regular updates. His tweets are always raw, which is kieeeef bru.

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The great thing about this sandwich is that you pound the meat before cooking. This means it only takes a minute or so on each side to cook. Another benefit is that the meat is tenderised so it doesn’t matter if you use slightly tougher cuts, like rump. It also means that the steak ends up in bite sized pieces so there are no akward moments wrestling to chew through your sandwich.

Ingredients:

200g steak (Sirloin is easiest)
1 lemon, halved
wholegrain mustard
4 large fresh slices bread
Small handful wild baby rocket

Make:

Heat BBQ or char grill pan on its highest setting.

Place steak between 2 layers of plastic. Bash with your fist or a meat mallet until it is flattened out to about 1/2cm thick. You want it to be thin as possible with a few holes so it cooks quickly.

Season steak and drizzle over olive oil on both sides. BBQ for approximately 1 minute each size until well charred. At the same time cook the lemon, cut side down.

Place steak on a clean, warm plate and drizzle with more olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Allow to rest for a few minutes so the meat juices mix with the oil and lemon juice to make a super
tasty sauce. Tear meat into bite sized pieces.

Spread bread with mustard then pile the steak on top. Scatter with rocket leaves, if using and drizzle over the juices. Top with another slice of bread.

Why:

The Quick Steak Sarmie (QSS) is an essential and so easy to make. Loaded with great protein, good carbs (if you go the Rye Bread option, specifically) and the power of rocket for flavor in there, you simply cannot doubt the power of this after a morning session of exercise. I smashed two of these on Saturday afternoon when I got back from my lunch. I may have smashed 2 Jack Black’s along with it, for good measure. I then took a hike up the mountain where I did a bit of this…

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We found this little guy in the road in the middle of the Karoo somewhere on our last bike camp through the Karoo. Excited already for this years trip. I expect us to go further and see even more remote places…

This article relates far more to front of the pack age groupers and elite athletes (hoping some pro’s out there read this to reiterate what I am saying) but has merit as well for being aspirational and seeing the difference between where you might be and where you want to be.

Camping for me is a big thing. I love training camps. They are a big week of focus with a big boost in performance if you do them correctly. Now when I say big boost in performance, of course I mean roughly 2-4% improvement come race day, but when you reach the top, 2% could mean 1st to 4th in your age group. Being the first knob not to make the podium or missing a Kona slot by 57 seconds (it happens) is the worst possible thing. As a top age grouper, I like to take all the risk equations out and go in as well prepared as I can handle. I love the training and racing but I hate having excuses for limited performance after the race.

So what equates to a proper camp?

For a time limited athlete like myself, I like bike camps the most. I can gain the most time there and run performance increases relatively as well by biking more. True. Story. I would say an increase of 50-100% in mileage (depending on skill and adaptation levels) is best and that the frequency is very important too. Rather do 7 days of work than 5. The idea is to teach the body to function when your mind is saying you are broken, but really you have lots left to give. I like to ride 4 hours every day with a 40min AeT run in the afternoon during the week (work allowing) and then 2 x 6-7 hour rides on the weekend with a 40min AeT run in those afternoons. Total volume for the week would be around 40 hours which makes me a freaking zombie and useless to the world. True story. I struggle like a mofo to get through the week but I understand why I need to press on.

Key things:

1. Put yourself in the dead zone. You want to wake up saying “no way I can do that again” and then have to go do it again.
2. EAT – you cannot eat enough in a week like this. Recovery is more important than doing the miles.
3. Sleep regularly and lots. Naps are non-optional.
4. Take a buddy. If you have someone with similar goals, take them along. Accountability goes a long way when you are wrecked on Day 3 and you know your mate is waiting for you to get up and ride with him.
5. Keep the intensity down. The idea is steady miles, keeping is to Ironman pace at maximum for 7 days in a row. The idea is to smash days 6 & 7, not 1 & 2.
6. Camp should finish 4 weeks prior to a big event to allow sufficient recovery and taper.

The reasons:

Mental – by making long training sessions routine, racing an IM becomes far more manageable. One of the key strengths Campers take home is the knowledge that no matter what happens in their race: they will get through it; they have been there before; and it’s no big deal. To truly perform at your best for IM, you need to get to the point where a 180km steady ride is simply “a session”. You won’t be able to perform on race day unless you have developed superior bike stamina in training.

Economy - while speed skills, drills and technique-focused workouts are useful for building economy, top athletes need to train their bodies to operate efficiently for 8-12 hours. 6x30s drills are useful but long hours of training at close to race effort (Aerobic Threshold: AeT) are far more race specific. We need to train our ability to move efficiently, with good form for many hours.

Aerobic Capacity // Aerobic Endurance - a fast Ironman is a 8-12 hour time trial. First and foremost, athletes must train their ability to simply go the distance – at any pace. Big week training addresses this universal critical success factor.

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Avoid Intensity

When you are extending endurance, be very careful with training above your steady zone in all sports. Sustained mod-hard efforts result in extended recovery. My experience is that each hour of mod-hard (tempo) exercise, likely results in at least three hours of steady training being missed.

When extended yourself through camp, it’s best to remain focused on the goals. Save the majority of your sport-specific strength work for the specific preparation phase of your season. Excess fatigue generated from appropriate camp work will tend to clear in 24-48 hours. Fatigue generated from excessive mod-hard and hard training can take weeks or months to clear. Part of the lessons of camp is that we have limits, one of the nice things is that we find that they are nearly always further than we expected.

If you ever decide to do one of these remember its YOUR camp, train YOUR intensity. Have a great weekend.

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DIRT! Woolworths-supported documentary on the effects of global soil disruption on food security and human well-being.

According to the UN, the global population is expected to increase to 9 billion over the next 40 years and that population is at the centre of the debate about issues around climate change, water resources and the destruction of biodiversity.   Food security is intrinsically linked to farming practice and the preservation of soil, and it is an issue that affects every human being.

It is with this in mind that we invite you to a private media screening of a global documentary called Dirt!.  The movie, narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis, brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has on our future.  It shares the stories of experts from around the world who study the impact of soil degradation on our very existence.

Don’t be confused. English also has a word for the “living, breathing skin”, unique to this planet, that has a negative connotation. Soil. But this is a positive film that traces the formation of ‘dirt’ over the millennia, how it has shaped us (at every burial we are reminded that we are dust) and how it features in many cultures’ folktales. Of course it is the very substance that sustains us – providing food, shelter, implements, warmth, even giving our wines their distinctive tastes if experts are to be believed. Its humorous and engaging tone makes more palatable the caveat that, even in our deceptively environmentally-conscious world, this common or garden stuff matters as much as the air that we breathe, and gives examples of diverse, exciting and innovative projects where people are getting their hands dirty… and enjoying it.

Woolworths have donated two sets of double tickets to the screening of DIRT! At Nu Metro in the V&A Waterfront on Sunday 15 August 2010, at 16h00 hours, to give away to the first two people who email me and tell me that they want them.

Simple. Just email raoul [at] urban-ninja.co.za as quickly as you can…

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This is based on the Thai dish ‘larb’ which is a fresh, fragrant stirfry of ground chicken or pork. If you don’t want to invest in a bottle of fish sauce you could use 1/4 cup soy sauce instead. It will be slightly more salty and  heavy but still lovely and fresh with the lime and herbs.

Dried rice noodles are an excellent option when you’re catering for people with wheat and gluten sensitivity.

Another allergen note. Most soy sauces contain some wheat derivitaves and aren’t suitable for gluten free diets. The Japanese soy sauce known as Tamari does not contain wheat so look for this if you need to.

Ingredients List:

375g (3/4lb) rice sticks (dried rice noodles)
600g (1 1/2lb) minced (ground) chicken
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice + lime halves to serve
1 bunch coriander or fresh mint, leaves picked

Place noodles in a large heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and allow to soften.

Heat some peanut or vegetable oil in a large wok or frying pan.

Cook chicken over high heat until well browned. Drain noodles and add to pan.

Cook until noodles are heated through and softened. Add fish sauce and stir for a few seconds. Remove from the heat and toss through lime juice and herbs.

TADAAAAAAAA! How yum & simple. Serves 4. 5 Ingredients, 10 minutes to prepare.

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One of the things I love most in life is cooking. It is my gardening, my zen out time and generally, also the time to have a glass of wine. It’s a time to try something new, something different and something that might go wrong. Thankfully, there are loads of take away spots around where I live, so if it’s a total flop, I can just get a take-away. In the quest for real food, I would love to inspire more people to try cooking at home.

I have found a resource so simple and easy that you are going to never forget the moment you downloaded it. It’s a free cook book with recipes that are easy to make, require 5 ingredients or less and even makes sense to the toughest booitjie out there. Best part is that it only takes 10 minutes to make each thing, and they look so so YUM! You will find it here so click “Save link as” in Firefox and if you are still using Internet Explorer – sis on you!

Have fun. I am going to have it printed out and leave it in the kitchen.

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There is just something about coming home from a long, long bicycle ride and totally stuffing your face with something that:

1. Tastes fantastic
2. Is stuffed with calories
3. Is accompanied by a fresh smoothie
4. Is ready for you to eat

We can do all those, boys & girls. You are just going to have to make the bread the night before, or get your significant other to make it while you are out riding. I make a variation on the standard version, upping the decadence just a little, because let’s face it, after 5 hours in the saddle, no calories are even going to touch sides. Here we go:

Ingredients

• 1 cup light or dark rye flour
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/3 cup soft butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup mashed banana (ripe)
• Nutella (liberal)

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (Celsius). Lightly spray or grease a bread pan.

In a bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, flour, honey, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Mix together with a wire whisk.

In another bowl combine the soft butter and the brown sugar, slowly add the egg substitute and beat till fluffy.

Add in the vanilla and mashed banana and some chunks (yes, chunks) of Nutella. Mix well. Add in the flour mixture till smooth.

Pour into the prepared bread pan and bake for 50 – 55 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and cool on a wire rack.

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Nice. When you get home, merely slice, spread more nutella, heat for 20seconds in the microwave and eat as much as you want while you are lying with your feet pointed towards the sky.

It’s a pleasure. No really.

You`ll thank me later.

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