Answer to My Question: Train Hard to Train Body to Burn Fat

Several weeks back I was asking if going slow (zone 1-2) for long distances was the best way to train the body to burn fat rather than carbohydrates, a necessity for anything longer than an Olympic distance triathlon or a 10k run. Well, I thought I'd found the answer and posted a rather lengthy synopsis of my findings in a previous post. Today, however, I read an article in the latest "Inside Triathlon" magazine that said the following: "To maximize your fat-burning capacity, regularly perform long endurance swims, rides, and runs that take you to the point of extreme fatigue." As Craig Alexander (aka, Crowie), second place finisher in last year's Hawaii Ironman, said (and I paraphrase), "Most age groupers just don't train hard enough. You have to train hard to be among the best." No wonder my last program was so psychotic. It was designed by Dave Scott himself. My current program, however, is training me to "finish" rather than "compete." Guess for a first 70.3 race, I should just be happy to finish.