Triathlon for Dummies

The question that most every triathlete, and even more so every Ironman get is "Why do you do it?" Honestly, any person who has accomplished a feat such as the Ironman could list a thousand reasons WHY. I think the fact of the matter is that triathlon presents the opportunity for someone to really define themselves. In each respective professional sport the top athletes are usually the ones that were naturally blessed with their abilities. Yes, hard work and determination in about 90% of the cases take these athletes to the next level, however the fact remains that most top pro's were born with some uncanny ability to hit a 95mph fastball, hit a 380 yard drive (straight), run a 4.25 40 (in football cleats), sink an NBA range 3 pointer (in game situations at 45%), drive a car at 200mph around an oval track (and not crash). But I don't know, these sports just seem like they are now at a level where some sort of natural gift has to be bestowed upon you in order to succeed. I know I am exaggerating but the point I am trying to make is that triathlon in my case, and in probably many many others has allowed me to conjure up something inside myself that I knew was there but never really dug into. Sure there were indicators that something along the lines of endurance athletics might be a good fit for me. Like the fact that I always liked the sports and athletic activities that just wore on. The thing that appealed to me about these was the fact that many people would just quit and give up. But anyway, I am kind of getting off track of answering the WHY.

To make an explanation that could fill a novel short I will say that triathlon engages strikes the right cords in my brain. The feeling that I have after I blitz my legs on my bike and finish it off with a run is fantastic. Yeah, it can hurt like hell but the self satisfaction that I feel is like none other. I never ever have felt that sort of satisfaction before I started doing endurance type stuff. I loved football, basketball, and baseball growing up but I never got the chills that I get from finishing a workout. Yes, I said a workout. It can be the most sissy recovery workout in the world but I still get a kick out of it. And the tougher the days are the more I get out of them.

Ok, I finally remembered what engaged this blog idea in my head. It was this...I swim, bike, and run more miles that most people cover on a summer vacation because I truly enjoy building the engine that is my body. I am 5'8'' and around 150 pounds and the only thing that matters in triathlon is how long it takes me (in my case I will use the IM standards) to cover 70.3 or 140.6 miles. I do not need a stomach that looks like it was sculpted out of marble in ancient greece. I don't need to be 6 feet tall. I do not need to be able to run a 4 minute mile or a 2:15 marathon, or bike like Lance Armstrong (although it would help), or swim like Michael Phelps. I just need to do all those things to the best of my ability because truly this sport is as individual as it gets. Sure you can train with people, and the fact that the triathlon community is so great is def a reason why I love this sport...but the fact is, when you want to get work done YOU DO IT ON YOUR WON. Only you can make yourself push harder when you don't feel like it or when you don't think you can because your darn legs feel like they are going to fall off. In the lead up to IM events there is a damn fine line between overdoing and undergoing. If you go either way you can come up short of your expectations. So yeah, I love this sport because it gives me the power. Only I....Only me can make myself get up and go swim/bike/or run. In more short relationship with Ironman I can tell that it rewards those who put in the time. Any avg joe can kick out a decent sprint or Oly race, and I am not knocking them because these races in themselves pose different challenges. They are speed based. They require a certain balls to the wall attitude if I may say so myself. So I guess what I meant by my prior comment that anyone can do them is that anyone can really jump into one of these races and finish in a respectable time and finish looking "good". I don't think that can be said about IM distances. They require a willingness to truly suffer. Suffer not from redlining but suffer because you've just been out in the sun for to dang long, or suffer because your mind is just not their, suffer from the 25 hr week you put in. I just absolutely love that I am in total control of my destiny and come race day no one else is there to coax you through it. When the cannon blasts its you and the course. The training has been completed by then. The only question that remains is "Was it enough? To much?" and the sole indicator of that is what the TIMEX reads when you Mike Riley calls your name.

I guess if you don't get jazzed up about a 5-6 hr bike ride in crappy conditions in the middle of March then maybe this sport isn't for you. But the fact that I love doing this and the fact that I have some amazing friendships because they like doing that to is something unique. I understand that some people like success in the form of promotions at work or other forms but for this guy I get SO much out of seeing what I can do. And to test myself I do it swimming, biking and running. It's not for everyone, and for those that its not for, well I suggest you do some local sprint tri's...you'll get some great exercise :) But for those people who live and breath triathlon..those people that have made it their lifestyle..I will say that I GET YOU! I understand why. It is something that no job can give. It's something that no motivation speech can provide. If their was only some way I could bottle up the feeling I get from this I could sell it and be a MILLIONAIRE..or just use it when I am feeling down, either way.

Welp, I am going to go back to what I was doing when this blog idea came to me....which was lying in my bed trying to fall asleep. Personally I struggle getting to sleep after a big training day. Logically you would think that a bunch of exercise at high intensity would create an intense desire for the body to just go BLAH..and fall asleep but for me I can't shut it down without a fight. But I going to keep battling and at least get my feet up. 5:45 is going to come early tomorrow morning. But the fact that I am getting up to go hang out with a bunch of nutters like myself at the pool makes it oh so much easier.

Kim Ammon, this is a test to see if you read my blog. You better be there in the morning! Travis Earley, I am also testing you. Are you planning on running this week on Wed. I know your beginning the Chi town marry lead up so I just wanted to check. Please submit responses in the comments section of this blog post. :) Otherwise I will just email you later this week, hahaha.

Until next time my friends.

-Turbo

M&M's

My lack of having anything good to write about is really bugging me. Right now when I think about something to write about all that comes to mind is that I have found a new addiction...Pretzel M&M's. I have been listening to the Jay and Silent Bob get old podcast lately and Kevin Smith keeps talking about how he just houses like bags and bags of these things. Since he is an overweight gentleman this makes sense. However his persistent chatter about these delightful candies have created a subconscious need for myself to enjoy them as well, I hope that the M&M (Mars Corp) people are paying him handsomely. So anywho...pretzel M&M's and some greek yogurt..it really doesn't get much better than that.

Normality Returns?

A lot has been going on lately. The busy summer season esentially ended with the Cuse 70.3 this past weekend. Since then I have regained some semblance of normality. This week has esentially been a reintroduction into the ironman training load. Normally I might take the whole week off to rest and recover but instead I only took Monday off and jumped right back into training on Tuesday. To my surprise things are going quite well and the body feels just fine. Let's hope that I can keep this up over the next 5 weeks as the lead up to IMFL gains speed.

I don't have much time right now so I can't say all the things I want to say but this weekend I should have some time. I've been very negligent in my blogging over the past couple of months but as with most people its because I've simply been bouncing around from here and there..and a good deal of recovery was sprinkled in and at that point I didn't really feel like mentally exerting myself.

Anyways, I will get back on track. I hope that my followers will continue to keep tabs on me as I make my way towards IMFL. This race is becoming very significant to me and I really can't wait to tackle the beast. All the support that my friends, family, and followers give me is really awesome and I appreciate every single bit. Logging the training hours and staying focused is always helped when people are keeping and eye on you and checking up. It gives me something to think about...I want to make you all proud.

Dear Trek & KSWISS

Hi Trek and KSWISS,

I just wanted to throw out a random thought to both of you. I really enjoy both of your companies products. In fact I probably spent over 3/4 of my annual salary on just products from you guys. I'm just saying that I think I would be a good ambassador of your product. I will be at IMFL in November and will gladly wear/ride anything that you would be willing to provide me...and even if you don't I will still be wearing and riding your products. But it would be pretty sweet to have you guys on my side.

So let me know, I'll be here in Upstate New York just chilling and getting ready for FL.

Thanks!

-Turbo

“You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.”

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" Calvin Coolidge

"Cassidy early on understood that a true runner ran even when he didn't
feel like it, and raced when he was supposed to, without excuses and
with nothing held back. He ran to win , would die in the process if
necessary, and was unimpressed by those who disavowed such a base
motivation. You are not allowed to renounce that you have never possessed, he
thought." (Quenton Cassidy - 'Once a Runner')

No Shortcuts

...when the lights are bright and you've finally made it up the hill. River road is but a distant though...you did't cut any corners, you made your way over 140 miles and you know get to cross the line in front of the cheering masses. Enjoy it because you earned it.

Maybe it was the generation I grew up in, but I remember when I was in school (Middle, High and College) I was always hesitant to take on the really challenging classes or projects. I don't know why this was, maybe "fear of the unknown" or fear of the work that it would entail based purely off of what someone else had said or experienced. The funny thing is that when I look back at this I also can tell you that in every situation I ever put myself into I succeeded. I vividly remember my 7th grade Social Studies class. Before the beginning of the year when I had not yet met the teacher, everyone who had been taught by her before said "good luck" because she was supposedly tough. The same can be said about a teacher in high school that I had. Well the moral of the story is that in both cases I went on to having wonderful experiences with these teachers. In fact in both cases I ended up winning a scholastic award at the end of the year for "student of the year" in their respective classes. (History, and Psychology). Weird huh? I guess the lesson I should have taken from this a long time ago was to never put to much stock into what someone else says. Every person has their own experiences and their own likes/dislikes. Just because it didn't work out for them doesn't mean it won't work out for you. Because I mean in both cases with these teachers it was seriously like, "Oh you have her for History...ut oh, that's going to be a rough year"...and in both cases I did extremely well and had a great year. I think that a lot of people including myself take comfort in going into something with your guns loaded, knowing that you are going to be able to accomplish something. But where is the fun in that? If you know that you are going to be able to do something before you even do it then where is the challenge? In my personal life I think I fell into the comfort zone much to often when I was in school. At the time it made sense to me. I had a high GPA in both high school and college, grades weren't an issue...but at the same time I was playing a lot of sports and thus in order from overloading my system I usually opted to just take the easy way out and do the mandatory courses...you know nothing crazy like molecular biology...in order to keep my life in balance and make sure I could get all my work done and still for example play college baseball which is extremely time consuming, even at the D3 level. (As a side note I must say that I regret straying away from my love of History. I loved history in school and I think I would have made a darn good History teacher or archeologist, or something along those lines. But I fell into the trap of "Teachers don't make that much, etc etc"...but the fact is that I could care less known..back then I didn't feel this way, but now...well I guess its like they say "If we only knew then what we know now") Anyway, here I am on my journey. Regardless of where I have been this is where I am now and I can only blaze new path's from here.

"Be comfortable in a state of discomfort"

So what I am getting at is that all to often people want to be comfortable, myself included. I think that people want a certain level of "I know I can do that" before they start something. I know in my professional career I feel this all the time. When I get asked to take on a project that I have no clue about it gives me a really rotten feeling. I hate not knowing how to accomplish something right at the moment. But it is these instances where exponential growth can be achieved. I am trying hard in my own life to realize this "in the moment". If I can consciously realize that these instances of insecurity are really opportunities from growth, then I can take them on with an open mind and a real eagerness to succeed. This scenario is really one of the crutches I live with. However, I know that it is a shortcoming and it is one that I hope to correct. In regardless to the sport of triathlon, which is why you all are reading my blog right? I think this scenario hits home in quite a large way. The sport of triathlon and in particular the longer events 1/2 and full ironman events require and extreme amount of dedication. This dedication allows for athletes to train for months and months for 1 special day. During all this training their are frequently days when the training just seems hard. Going into a long ride you know that you are going to suffer. But the thing is..."who care's if you don't exactly hit your goal wattage or your goal time" in the end its just another training day and you are going to be better for just going out. I feel like I myself psych myself out a lot. I will go into a workout thinking about how hard it is going to be to do something and it takes me a while...maybe even until after the workout to realize how much I gained from it...even if I didn't hit my goals. And I think this relates to another post I wrote a long time ago when I said that it really doesn't matter if you hit your training or racing goals every time. I say this because I feel that if every time you meet or exceed your goals then you are not setting the bar high enough. You really do have to fail at something before you know how good or how far you truly can go. So that's the trick for me...making myself believe that each time I swim, bike, or run that I am bettering myself even if it doesn't go as planned.

What kind of spurred me on to this post was not taking any shortcuts in life. Taking the easy way out is exactly as it sounds..its easy. Its the sissy's way of going through life. You might not ever fail but you also will never truly succeed. This goes hand in hand with when someone will tell you (a triathlete) that they (a civilian) could never do an ironman, let alone a half ironman. Well to them I say (and this probably goes against many coaching philosophies)...just sign up for one. Sign up for one that it at least a half to full year in the future. This will provide you with the carrot to chase. All you have to do then is train..and push yourself to places that are uncomfortable. There is


Triathlete and the sport of triathlon is about being comfortable in a state of discomfort. If one can be happy when they are in pain than they have a significantly greater chance of performing better than the pure bred athlete who winces at discomfort or adversity. If you give me that choice of taking an athlete who can run a stand alone 16 min 5k, 58 minute 40k TT, or 21 minute 1 mile OW swim but who hates digging deep or the athlete who is much slower (not much but more avg 20 min 5k, 1:10 40k and 26 min mile) in all three but has a true passion for just being out in the sport, I would say that when race day comes at the Ironman distance that when all things considered the avg athlete probably has a better chance of succeeding then the faster athlete. I truly believe this because in Ironman racing, perfect race days are few and far between. Not counting the personal battles with GI, nutrition, injuries, etc one of the main tenants to triathletes not hitting their goals or not finishing is the weather...the course conditions. Like for example, people on Slowtwitch will frequently ask "what is the fastest IM course in the US". Many will quickly respond with Florida...and then as they get to the harder ones they will mention IMLP and IMSG...that kind of thing. But really when you think about it time is all relative. And this is precisely why qualifying for Kona is a one day thing. In order to qualify for Kona you can't just go to a race and hit a time and then go to Kona. Its not like the Boston marathon where you just have to meet a time requirement. And this to me is the beauty of triathlon. Success is derived from being able to deal with whatever is thrown at you. Its not just about being able to swim, bike, and run. Its about being able to play mind games with yourself and not let the games over take you. Its about tricking your mind and body into doing something that it hasn't done. Each person lives in a state of homeostasis and in that state everything is peachy. The biggest hurdle that I foresee for myself is changing my homeostasis. If I can change my comfort level to one that tolerates more pain that I have become faster without even running a 5k faster. Why? Well if I can mentally deal with things going wrong I am going to be able to prevent a lapse in concentration. When the stud runner falls of the wagon at mile 18-24 and their min/mil goes in the crapper, the slower and much steadier athlete who is following their plan and knows their limits could possibly catch the much faster runner...even if that faster runner throws down a 7 min mile pace between 24-26.2. At that point the damage has been done, when concentration lapses problems can arise. So idk if that makes much sense, I was kind of jumping around. But I think that the MAIN THEME here is that being comfortable in a state of discomfort is one of the main tenants of success. Through this the relative "comfort level" increases, and on race day you want to predominantly be "comfortable" and only want to enter the realm of discomfort when the race is nearing its end. So to make a long-winded confusing post much more simplistic I will end with saying that their are no shortcuts in life. In order to succeed at work you need to be willing to take on tasks that make you feel stressed. If you can deal with the stress and fight through it you will improve yourself and your bosses will take notice and subsequently you will succeed in that line of work. Likewise in triathlon if you can deal with failing to meet goals, having off-races, getting out to train even when you know that pain will be coming..in the end you are going to be a better athlete and a better person. Just don't play games with yourself. Don't trick yourself into thinking you are faster than you really are. If you are constantly missing your targets this to can become a source of problems. Be optimistically realistic, if that makes sense. Set goals that are big, yet not to big. If you say you want to have a sub 11 ironman when you know physically that your best individual time trials set you up for a 12 hour day...well maybe you need to re-evaluate for the time being. I am not saying that down the road you won't be sub 11 or even sub 10 but for the time being I think that being realistic on race day is going to keep you on the level. You are going to be able to race your race and race within yourself. Thus, come time to cross the line you will be happy and not disappointed. Then when you go into your next training block you can go in with a positive attitude instead of one that is consumed with revenge. Because in the end you can only race as fast as your body will take you. Even the world champ Craig Alexander says that yes he has won 2 world championships in a row but that he can be faster. In essence he is saying that on the days when he won he essentially just beat the field. He may or may have not hit his potential but on that day he crossed the line first...thus he still has a drive for improvement. He still believes that he is faster..and when you are as fast as he is already you definitely cannot take shortcuts! Just think about how many races he has done. Imagine having raced as much as he has and then setting a PR! Now that would be one to celebrate. So train hard and train smart and really take stock of your situation. I have found that the road to improving in this sport (even in my short time) is pretty darn tough. But when the training pays off come race day the benefits that are reaped are truly astounding. There really is no better feeling than the one you can get when you cross the finish line knowing that it all paid off.

You get out what you put in.

How's training going? Are you keeping up with your workouts, eating right, getting enough sleep? I guess we will all know come race day whether you've been a good tri guy/gal.