How I have been able to really increase my IRONMAN racing speed

How I have been able to really increase my IRONMAN racing speed

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Luis's interview

by Luis Alvarez
Winner at Ironman Honolulu - World Record Holder - First and only person to compete at every Ironman venue in the world.

"Master Amino Acid Pattern (MAP) has helped me so much, not just in competing and qualifying for the Hawaii world Championship, but has helped me to recover to compete in an IRONMAN averaging every 3 weeks and to win IRONMAN Honolulu." - Luis Alvarez

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Here is what I have learned in 21 years of racing that has helped me to become faster with each passing year. I am going give the overview in this article and then go into each one more specifically in the ones to follow.
1. How I have been able to really increase my IRONMAN racing speed?

2. What's my training pulse?

3. How I have been able to really improve running speed?

4. What is my seat angle on my bike so that I am very efficient and can run fast off the bike?

5. What has been the best secret I know of to increase cycling power and running speed?

6. How MAP has improved my performance and kept me injury free.

7. Hydration and Nutrition - pre and post training and racing and the use of salt tablets.

8. Weight lifting and mountaineering.

9. The mind set.

I began in the world of triathlon in 1986 and did my first Ironman in 1991. In those days, I used to train at my full aerobic capacity, with high heart beat (90% of max) in every training session. The main reason was that I trained with a very competitive group. Each session, both on the bike and run, we always said that we were going to train long and smooth on the weekends, but we never did. Someone was always feeling strong that day, and would begin to pick up the pace, and in no time the long and smooth turned into a race that left each of us limping by the end and needing a whole week to recover.

And so I used to race the same way with heart rate averaging over 160 bpm. I didn't do to badly, and clocked a 10:58 in my first Ironman. And in 1993, I finished Hawaii in 10:21 still training the same way. But over the next 10 years, I was unable to improve and I was constantly injured. I asked myself, was this as good as I could do? Had I reached my peak? Fortunately not. But I did become wiser and learned some very important know how that I will pass on to you.

In using my Timex GPS I still train with the same group of friends.

That is, we meet and leave together for our long rides, but I keep to my own pace. I end with good energy and am not beat up. On the very long rides of 200K, they leave me in the beginning but by the end I reel them in and while they have whipped each other to fatigue, I am feeling strong and calm and usually the first to complete. The same occurs during an Ironman. I usually am the fastest in my group over nearly 200 people because I have trained well and not overdone it and hurt myself.

The secret? I never train above 145 beats per minute on a training ride. Even on the hills!

Since I have been using this method, my finish times in races have now been improving dramatically. From 10:58 in 1991 to 10:06 in 2006 with an average bpm of 145, yes, after 15 years not only did I improve my time by 40 minutes, I also lowered my average heart rate by over 20 beats per minute!

Using a heart rate monitor is as useful as having a tachometer in our car. In the car you do not want to exceed 6,000 rpm unless you want to ruin your engine. We know the maximum rpm for our car because we see the red line on the instrument. We must treat our body the same way. Most people, as I did in the past, overdo it and cause injury and breakdown and do not continue to improve with age. But, by using common sense, we can train smart and use safe limits, that build up the body and not injure it.

At what bpm should we train? Every organism is different but in the next article I will talk about my experience and how one can work this out for him or herself to find your ideal training pace.

All the best,
Luis Alvarez

Articles from Luis:
Nutrition Tips for an Ironman - The heart rate monitor as a daily tool - Competions in cold weather - How to do 10 IRONMAN in a year without injuries - 250 MILES BIKE RIDE IN EXTREME CONDITIONS - Health or Fitness - Thanks to MAP I broke my PR 4 years in a row - Quality or Quantity - Three Òfamilies" of Injuries - Mountain Training for Triathlon - How I have been able to really increase my IRONMAN racing speed - What's my training pulse? The Maffetone Method - Lesson in Overcoming - Lesson in Overcoming - Luis Alvarez does it again! Amazing! - MAP not only for athletes - RUNNING WITH THE POSE METHOD - MAP Team Member Luis Alvarez does it again - Ironman Pre-Season - An spectacular New Years Eve MAP. It is not only for training

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