Glenn's April/May 2006 News Letter

"Never think you are not good enough. A person should never think that. My belief is people will take you at your own reckoning? Anthony Trollope."

Endurance sport challenges your perspective
In a recent discussion with some athletes, the seamless topic of how the mind influences us was spoken about. For me, one of the most fascinating parts of endurance sports whether it is the Argus, Comrades or Ironman is how the events challenge our own preconceived notions of ourselves. Think back when you began your quest. There were areas of self doubt: can I go the distance? Will I make the cut-off time? Have I done enough training? Even during the event there undoubtedly were moments when you questioned your ability. Yet, somehow we got to The Other Side or the Promised Land. This moment is often a euphoric one for many of us as we are filled with a great sense of accomplishment. This is the beginning of a journey for us. As time goes by, we continually find new and more difficult challenges as our self confidence grows. For me, one of the rewards of endurance sports is how it contributes to your sense of self worth and achievement.

Bike cranks
Through coaching of some athletes for Ironman, I realised there are a number of people out there who are not using the correct crank lengths. One of the problems we fact today is that when you buy a bike the cranks generally come as 'standard issue' So, here is a guide for you. Measure your inseam leg length. If your inseam length is less than 78cm, then you need to be riding not more than 170mm cranks. A reasonable range would be 165-170mm.many female cyclists fall into this category yet end up riding the standard 172mm cranks. What is the impact of riding longer cranks on your body and pedal stroke? Depending on how much longer the cranks are, it may affect your knees resulting in knee pain and even injury over time. Secondly, a longer pedal stroke makes your pedal stroke longer too. Riding a crank that suits your leg length better, will make you pedal more efficiently and assist you on the hills. If your inseam length is 78-83, then you could ride 170-172mm cranks and if your leg length is above 88cm, then you are more effective riding 175-180mm cranks.

A true story I recently had the privilege of consulting with a female marathon runner who has been using Enervit and complained of nausea during a race. In cases like these, athletes quickly assume the product is to blame. The 2 of us say together and looked at her daily eating plan. We made some changes to this plan and she again raced on Enervit at her next race. To me, there were aspects of her diet that were more than likely causing stomach cramps. For the race, we added in some of Enervit's GT tablets. She was amazed to find herself recording a personal best by 23 minutes! Not only was I pleased for her but it proved again that products must work in conjunction with your daily eating. This experience has given her great confidence in the products. If you want assistance with your daily eating and to see how best to use Enervit for you personally, please contact me or Jenni on this mail or jennig@enervit.co.za