Get back to basics

215 days to race day

“Every man dies, not every man really lives.” – William Wallace in Braveheart

Well, it’s that time of season again, the season of giving.  And for the family of endurance athletes it can be a very taxing time indeed.  Ask any triathlete what new gear they need and they will begin to rattle off a list of gadgets and gizmos that sound as if Stephen Hawking himself would be baffled in trying to figure out how to apply them.  Watt meters, aero helmets, skin suits, ceramic bearing carbon disc wheels (yes, that is for real) and the list goes on ad infinitum.  You would think it should be easy to load up on gifts by simply going to the local shop and dropping a little bit of cash.  Not so.

The problem is that there is way too much science and tech speak built into all of this.  My wife asked what I wanted for Christmas and I half-jokingly mentioned I could use some new pedals.  The problem is if she goes to Amazon and searches “bike pedals” it returns 11,545 results.  Good luck with that honey!

Now I know what I want.  It only took me a good 8 or 10 hours of extensive research and half a dozen stops at the bike shop to determine I “need” the Speedplay Zero Titanium.  That comes with a hefty price tag of $335 so I’ll settle for the Speedplay Light Action Stainless Steel for $185.  That’s $185 – for pedals.  Well, now that this is staring back it me on paper I suppose I could concede to something a little more reasonable. 

If you have sticker shock on that then let me educate you a little bit on wheels.  The best are made from space age carbon fiber, weigh close to nothing at all, and have been designed over years in a wind tunnel to reduce wind drag (some even claim to have a positive drag effect under certain conditions – I don’t believe it though).  If you’re a cheap bastard like myself you shop for these on e-Bay with a starting price tag of $800 for a front wheel.  Of course you could do better and spend $3,000 to $6,000 for a set which will make you much faster, or at least look like you’ll be faster.  The real kicker is that even the most advanced wheel technology will save me 2 to 3 minutes over a 56 mile ride.  Maybe I could gain bigger dividends with a little more time training?

This phenomenom is not restricted to triathlon though.  Any activity with a passionate fan base is victim to the over science.  When I played hockey as a kid you had 2 choices in sticks – right handed or left handed.  Now you have to decide on flex, blade lie, taper, and I don’t even know what else.  And then if you can’t find what you’re looking for just have something custom made.  If you don’t believe me then just take a look at whatever your hobby or passion is and you’ll be amazed at the ridiculous amount of products available.

The problem with all this great technology is that it may have made us quicker, stronger, more agile, but I believe it has taken away from the true aspect of why we participate in our passions.  We tend to focus more on shaving 25 grams from the bike or finding a new pitching wedge with a perfect head angle than enjoying the activity itself.  I forget how good it feels to have the sun on my face and a breeze blowing down my back on a long ride when I’m so concerned about gear.  You can’t have a cathartic experience over material possessions.  I do endurance events because they are a form of physical meditation that calms me mentally.  That can easily get fouled up with some analysis paralysis.  I’m much better off just getting out the door and pounding the pavement.

I have found one activity that is still rather supreme in its utility though – trail running.  It is the most even playing field you can find.  The fastest runners are the ones that put the time in on their feet.  There is  no technology or financial price one can pay to gain an advantage.  A $300 pair of shoes will gain you nothing over my $70 pair and there are no gadgets that will create a more aerodynamic running position.

One year as I lined up for the start of a Voyageur 50 I saw a runner with not 1, but 2 water bottles duct taped to his hands!  Yes, I said duct taped.  If that isn’t the very definition of form over function then I don’t know what is.  Any triathlete would have a heart attack if you approached their bike with any attachment that has not been lab tested and proven to provide a 1/10 nanosecond savings.  Seeing him at the start of the race made me chuckle not only because he looked silly but because I realized trail running is a pure sport of man against himself.  But then I thought how in the hell is he going to go to the bathroom?  I can get away without a bathroom break for a marathon but a 10 hour trail run necessitates evacuating the bladder at some point.  Suddenly I got this mental image of him struggling to untie his shorts with those stubby bottles taped to his hands while doing the pee-pee dance.  I suppose there can be a thing as too much utility, but I digress.

When I was brainstorming the content for this post it reminded me of the William Wallace quote above.  I don’t think that every person who participates in endurance events truly experiences it.  I know I am certainly guilty of that from time to time.  I need to get back to basics and experience the process, not hastily rush through my training just to get it done so I can research the next advancement in equipment.  More time doing, less time thinking about doing.

The same applies to all other areas in my life.  I have family that I share time with but I don’t always let them know how much they mean to me.  I have friends but I forget to set aside some quality time with them.  I may be alive but I need to concentrate on living to the fullest.  Merry Christmas everyone and here’s hoping you get to experience the holidays with the ones you love.

Loving the cold

223 days to race

“There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.”  - Bill Bowerman

I love when the weather turns cooler.  It probably stems from when I was a child.  Autumn turned the leaves crimson, yellow and orange which signaled the start of hunting season  and some good fishing.  It also meant hockey season was just around the corner.  When outside temps hit 20 below zero and ice fishing became a little too frigid I took solace in the balmy confines of the arenas.  The cold was never something that kept me from participating in my favorite activities.  I just went about having my fun and while I may have been cold it was not uncomfortable to be so.

Now that affinity for the cold translates to my training as well.  Read any article on optimum temperatures that produce the fastest marathon times and the overwhelming majority will say between 30 and 55 degrees farenheit.  Almost any serious distance runner can tell you how much they love the cool weather, especially here in Texas where we have to deal with 4 months or more of temperatures over 100 degrees.

It’s funny, as the mercury falls you see a dramatic increase in the number of people running.  Sidewalks that were devoid of any soul just 2 weeks earlier when temps were 85 degrees are suddenly overflowing the first weekend in October when the thermometer reads 60 degrees.  But where does everyone go 3 weeks later when it’s 50 degrees?  It seems that personal goal achievement has an exponentially negative correlation with discomfort for many people.  And ironically the more rewarding goals are typically achieved through overcoming greater discomfort.  It’s a shame because what most people deem to be painful is mostly a mental block.

For centuries Native Americans lived close to the land without the creature comforts like central heating and air.  I’m sure they were cold in the winter, but they were not uncomfortable.  I believe it was Chief Joseph who once said “We did not know we were cold until the white man told us.”  While I don’t profess to be tough enough to be able to completely give up my climate controlled home I think it does make a poignant statement on how soft we have become.  Most people live in a thermostat controlled environment with a grand temperature range of 67 to 75 degrees.  Get any suburban dwelling family outside of that and you’ll start hearing complaints for days on end.

It is interesting to watch the reaction from people when I tell them I am going for a bike ride when it’s 30 degrees outside.  Predictably, I hear a whole lot of things like “It’s too cold for that, you’re crazy!”  But what they don’t know is that cold does not mean major discomfort.  Sure, the first couple of miles may feel a bit of a wind bite in my toes and fingers, but only if that’s what I want to concentrate on.  Somewhere down the line I focus on the ride – cadence, proper shifting, plans to attack the hills – and that discomfort disappears.  In fact, the ride actually becomes enjoyable.

This phenomenon is not relegated solely to cold weather.  Heat, rain, wind, snow and any other inclement weather becomes an excuse for people to hide indoors and complain.  If I wanted to wait for the conditions to be perfect and comfortable I could get approximately 2 weeks of training in each year.  Definitely not enough to prevent me from ballooning to 300 pounds, much less completing a marathon or Ironman triathlon.  So instead of wishing for “comfortable” conditions I choose to train in all conditions and find that my comfort range is far greater than I could have realized.  The most rewarding part of that is when I pass a fellow “crazy” athlete during a training run or ride because I know that they are committed to their goals too.  It’s a fellowship that you just can’t understand unless you’re doing it.  The real crazy thing about that is that we are happy and comfortable out on the road while most people are inside complaining about the weather and how it paralyzes them.  Expand your comfort zone and you can accomplish more.

What did I get myself into?

232 days to race day
 

“A ship in the harbor is safe.  But that’s not what ships are built for.” – John Augustus Shedd

 

Well, if you’re reading this you must be really bored but thanks for stopping by anyway.  On July 27, 2014, I am scheduled to compete in the Lake Placid Ironman triathlon.  Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a full 26.2 mile marathon all in one day.  Seeing that glare back in black and white scares the hell out of me.  But it’s not the first journey I’ve decided to tackle that seems daunting, almost bigger than what I am capable of accomplishing.  As I was going over some old documents I came across a blog I kept while I was training for my first Voyageur 50 trail run and it made me smile and remember that “it’s impossible” is just my excuse for being afraid to try.  So, like every other half literate human with a keyboard who thinks they have something profound to share I decided to start a blog as I prepare for yet another ridiculous endeavor.  While what I have to say is not likely too profound (but it is in my head anyway), hopefully it will at least be entertaining to catalog my experiences on the road to Lake Placid. 

The whole idea of competing in an Ironman triathlon has been in the back of my mind for years.  It was filed back there with the rest of those things on most people’s bucket lists – travel the world, go skydiving, climb Everest, complete a Western States 100 in under 30 hours, run a Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim.  Well ok, I admit maybe my bucket list hints at a bit of insanity, but the thing about insanity is it can be contagious.  A little over a year ago the crazy flu caught up with another friend.  That’s when we decided we were going to compete in Lake Placid Ironman because it sounded really cool and people will think we are amazing for such a notion. 

It was kind of like when you’re drinking at the bar and right before closing time someone stands up and announces “We’re road tripping to Vegas tonight.”  Everyone gets really excited, but then Joey starts puking, Tim passes out and John’s girlfriend shames him into tears for being so inconsiderate about her feelings.  The road trip is cancelled before the taxi can be secured.  It would have been an epic trip, the stuff dreams and movies are made of.  Since the trip was abandoned for reasons beyond human control (only an act of God could stop the genius behind that trip) we all get half credit anyway and laugh about what could have been.  Not so with the Ironman. 

We never sobered up, our wives have not brought us back to our senses, the whole notion wasn’t lost in an alcoholic blackout and the credit card did not get declined when the entrance fee was paid.  Oh shit! 

For several months now the concept and breadth of this has been obscured by time.  It has been very abstract and far away but my official training starts January 1.  Now that the time for this journey to officially begin is upon me it appears almost impossible.  However, nothing great ever comes easy and experience has taught me that the fear is good.  Man is not supposed to remain in a state of comfort because there is no growth in it.  In order to grow I must step out of my comfort zone and face my fears.  Much like the quote I led this post with, we are not built to remain safely in the harbor, we are is built to explore the seas and risk finding something great.  It may come at a cost but I’d rather pay for the experience than to sit on shore and wonder “what if…..”