2016 – Team Robertson

MyPlate Pyramid and Individuality

November 8, 2016

MyPlate is a nutrition guide provided by the USDA that replaced the MyPyramid in 2013. It is a basic guide on what percentage of your diet should come from carbohydrates and protein. Many of us can remember the food guide pyramid that started in 1992 that was very misguiding in its later years. The MyPlate is a more current, up to date guide that is based on current research, and provides an easier understanding of how to eat healthy, but overlooks the importance of fat in one's diet. MyPlate is divided into sections of 30 percent grains, 40 percent vegetables, 10 percent fruits and 20 percent protein, accompanied by a smaller group that includes dairy. The old Food Guide Pyramid from years ago consisted of a diet...

Eating Disorder vs. Disordered Eating

October 16, 2016

Education, Nutrition

Most of us have heard the terms disordered eating and eating disorder. Are they related? What do they mean? Are they preventable? This blog tackles both of these topics and how to keep yourself on track for healthy eating habits. First, let's start with disordered eating. Disordered eating is just what it sounds like. If you are guilty of this, these are some of the categories you might fit into- emotional eaters (stress/boredom/fatigue), depressed about food, social anxiety about food, yo-yo dieting, guilt from eating bad, guilt from lack of exercise, orthorexia (obsession with eating healthy), low self-esteem, weight fluctuations. Some of you are probably thinking "I have all of these!" but before you become a hypochondriac, l can assure you we all have had...

Leadville 100 Run

August 24, 2016

Education, Fitness

This past Saturday, I accompanied my good friend David over the pass from Aspen, Colorado to the town of Leadville for the Leadville 100 trail running race. David did this race 2 years ago, and I was there that year to help crew for him between aid stations. This year my goal was to help pace him the last 24 miles to the finish. In 2013, he finished in 23 hours and he was hoping to beat his time this year. Unfortunately David hurt his knee early on and had to DNF, but this blog will focus on the race itself and how he trains for it. Anyone that runs trail races knows about the Leadville running race. I have participated in numerous endurance events...

Heat vs. Altitude

August 11, 2016

Education, Fitness

There has been much debate through the years whether the heat or the altitude is tougher for training and racing. Obviously there are A LOT of factors that go into this- where you live, background, genetics, sweat rate, body size, terrain, etc. I thought this blog would be fitting considering I will be spending the next 8 weeks living at 9000 feet, and it was just last month I was back in Texas sweating in 100 degree heat and humidity. After having spent many years training in altitude and heat, I thought I would use myself as the guinea pig for this article and try and put together some valuable information for those of you reading this. Keep in mind, my body always races well in...

Buffalo Springs Half Ironman

July 23, 2016

Education, Uncategorized

The wife and I arrived in Lubbock, Texas on Friday with 48 hours to spare until the race. The drive from Houston is pretty easy and we finished it in just over 7 hours. I did all the driving, and my wife did her usual "auto-narcoleptic strategy." A few hours from Lubbock I got this strange feeling that I had left my bike shoes at home. This strange feeling was correct and that meant Saturday was going to be spent finding the same brand I use (Sidi.) When you have done as many races as I have you start to accumulate a list of "things that can go wrong in a race." This was a new one for me amongst the list of flat tires,...

Injury Crisis?

July 16, 2016

Education

Anyone that exercises or lives an active life knows that the absolute worst thing that can happen to you is an injury to sideline you from being able to do any kind of physical activity. Most of you reading this blog have been there yourself whether it was from an accident, illness, or human error you caused yourself. Sometimes when an injury occurs it can become a long-term positive asset, but you might not know this yet! I have seen many people come back from an injury with a new found energy that was lacking beforehand. This blog discusses the top ways to deal with an injury and the positive benefits that can come from such a thing. Rest- Most of us don't have the...

Pacing a Half Ironman

May 26, 2016

Education, Fitness

For triathletes that have been racing a long time or are new to the sport and are thinking about doing a longer triathlon then the half ironman distance can be the perfect distance! Beginners tend to think all about ironman, but the half ironman can be the perfect solution for those looking to go longer. It can be just long enough where PACING has to be taken into consideration, but not so long like an ironman distance where more can wrong and nutrition has to be as close to perfect as possible. The half ironman distance won't take up as much training time as an ironman, so your significant other will love this distance also! If you have trained properly most also find they are...

Racing Ironman

May 24, 2016

Education, Workouts

I did my first triathlon back in 1998 and little did I know it would change my life in many different ways all for the better. I remember having a horrible swim, did the cycling portion on a mtn bike, and followed it up with a decent run and passed several people along the way. That last part about passing people on the run turned out to be how I would end up racing the next 10 years, even while having much improved swim and bike times along the way. This past weekend my hometown hosted Ironman Texas. Athletes were greeted with hot and humid conditions, as well as torrential rain the back half of the day. I had several athletes I coach that participated,...

Supplements

May 17, 2016

Fitness, Nutrition

The supplement industry is a billion dollar industry with products that can be found almost anywhere food is found these days. Does the average person need to take supplements? If you are in optimal health and eating a diet with plenty of lean meats, fats, fruits, and vegetables then you probably don't need to take any supplements at all. Through the years I have witnessed firsthand many people overloading on a million different vitamins just for it to end up being a total waste of money. What nutrients a person needs is very individual however, and the only real way to know what your missing is by a simple blood panel. With that being said, there are 2 supplements I have found that a large...

Powerful Veggies

May 3, 2016

Education, Nutrition

It is quite obvious by now that the one food group you should be consuming the most of are vegetables. It is also the one food group I can think of that gets no bad press either! The diseases that vegetables prevent would not fit into this blog there are so many. I personally like to think of vegetables as medicine, since they essentially are and some of the compounds are hard to pronounce as well! There are some veggies that are a better choice as far as getting the most nutrition from each serving. Most people don't consume anywhere near enough of these foods and could use at least 2-3 cups a day of vegetables. If you are picky about a variety of different...

November 2016