Zoot Makai Shoes

I've been racing and training in Zoot Makai shoes since joining Team Zoot Tri Europe this season; having accumulated a fair few miles on various terrain, and races from 10K to marathon, I felt it was worth jotting down some thoughts.

Cheap solution to prevent bottle launching

I'm a big fan of XLabs and their behind-the-saddle bottle mounts; but I'm sure most people who have mounted bottles there have at some point experienced 'bottle launching'. This is at best annoying, and at worst could totally derail a long distance nutrition plan. I'm aware XLabs sell a 'Gorilla' cage which they state will prevent launching, but they're very expensive and British road surfaces are pretty ingenious in that regard.

I've always used the cheap 'Elite' cages which are available in all sorts of colours, and have a rubber tab which holds on to bottles fairly well. However, after a recent launching episode I thought I'd try something new.

Step up, 80mm nitrile rubber o-ring. (I bought them from Amazon but I'm sure you can find them elsewhere). Wrapped as per the photo, they add a bit of friction to the cage and seem to work very well - certainly no issues in a recent race where I saw quite a few cages (Gorillas included) shedding their load.

Feel free to share any other top tips in the comments!

Outlaw Triathlon 2016

After kicking off my triathlon career at IM Wales in 2011 I decided to find out what distance I suited best in 2012, by racing all of them. The Outlaw was my chosen iron-distance so I returned to it this year to see whether I've improved.

Triathlon Bike Setup

Triathletes. Covering bikes in food and drink since 1974...

Illness and HRV

Stress is a vital part of athletic training. But too much means you don't have time to recover before the next session and spiral yourself into exhaustion, whilst not enough means you're never working hard enough to improve. Many are touting Heart Rate Variability (HRV) as a potential solution.

Xiaomi Mi Band 1S

I wasn't a great believer in fitness trackers for athletes, but this little device has changed my mind. For $18 (and a bit of waiting for it to make it from China) you get something that's as good as any of the basic fitness trackers, and even has heart rate monitoring built in.

Threshold Part 2 - What is a threshold?

In this post I will look at some of the common 'thresholds' and empirical evidence for their existence. I'll be using evidence from the world of running - as a sport it is perfect for the purpose; we are well-adapted to it as a species over a wide range of distances (read 'Born to Run'), and we have kept records of the limits of our achievements. Whilst they were not all run by one person, they form a lovely natural experiment into the limits of human physiology.