Look at your legs. Point your toes inward toward each other. Hold that pigeon-toed position. Now, point your knees outward. Yes, become both pigeon-toed and bow-legged. Now, put those legs into corrective shoes and leg braces until the age of eight. Why? Because that is the way this story begins.
Think of the type of legs it would take to run 15 triathlons, 10 marathons, a 100-mile bike ride, two six-mile, cross-country, obstacle-course mud-runs with the local Marine Corp, and over 30 years in the martial arts. Why? Because they are the same set of legs: The legs of a man in his 30s, 40s and now 50. Why do I tell you this? Because it is my story, and if I can do triathlons, anyone can.
What would motivate any sane person to do a triathlon, let alone 15 of them?
Like so many things, it just seemed like a good idea at the time. I had watched triathlons on television. They seemed like fun. I just wanted to know if I could do one. The local circuit was the international distance. The course was a 1-mile swim in the cold Pacific Ocean, and 25-mile bike ride along the coast, and a 6.2-mile (10K) run. Why not?
Triathlons have only gone professional recently. In the old days, there were a few professionals. Most of us were just the average person holding down a job and training whenever we could. For me that meant five a.m. every weekday with longer distances on the weekends. The goal was not the dream of someday being in the Olympics. The goal was just to have a good time, finish, go home and start to train for the next one. It was, and still is, personal. I cannot say I ever won a triathlon. I can only say every one I lined up for I finished. That was winning to me. I was the recreational, middle-to-back of the pack, old guy with the big grin.
When people ask me why I did, and still do, this stuff I always answer, because I do not play golf. Something about the windmill and the clown's face always seemed too difficult and challenging for me.
How did I physically train?
With every repetition of laps or miles, it is equally important to turn pages. First, I always recommend that people get a public library card. Read every book you can on swimming, biking and running. Read the books and read the magazines. Do not just train more, train smarter. The library is also a great free source of magazines. There are as many opinions on physical training as there are trainers. Everyone has an opinion and a program that works for him or her. The more one reads about physical training, the more one becomes familiar with the common denominators. Find what personally works for you.
The swim:
I used to be a swimmer. At least I considered myself a swimmer. I joined the swim team one year in high school. Anyone who could swim was welcomed. I did not last the season. As a teenager, I did not have much discipline. I had been a lifeguard at a county park for several summers and a pool assistant for gym class my senior year. So what that it had been over a decade and a half since I had done much more than body surfed. I knew I could swim. Before my first triathlon, my swim practice consisted of taking showers. When I make mistakes, I make good ones. I pulled myself through the water. My arms shook as I tried to hang onto the handlebars for the bike ride. I knew I needed to work on this getting wet thing.
I later found the local pool. I called and found out the times allotted for lap swimming. For next to nothing I could get in a lane and swim back and forth several times a week. I began to read articles about swimming techniques. I got my speed-dos, my cap and my goggles. I got myself some good hand paddles handles and began practicing the "S" pattern. I learned to bilateral breath so I turned my head to breathe on opposite sides. I learned to keep my body relaxed, straight, and not to make a splash when I kept a steady kick. I learned to appreciate the quiet the pool offered.
The bike-ride:
When I first went looking for a bike to ride, a friend gave me the best advice I ever heard. He said that no matter how tricked out the bike you buy, you still have to peddle it. This made sense to me. I went and test rode several bikes in several parking lots. A sales person gave me a second helping of good advice. He told me to pay attention to what felt comfortable to me in the frame. The size and the sturdiness mattered. Everything else was changeable. They were right. I got a solid bike because I am a big guy. I got it adjusted so that my legs could extend fully when pushing. I have changed to thinner tires, a closer gear cluster, and a different pedal from the old cages. The frame is about the only thing that has stayed the same. It was sturdy, it feels comfortable, and we have seen the miles together. I have had no regrets.
In training, I had to learn about form. I had to keep the feet, knees and hips all pointed in the same direction. No easy task when you remember how this story started. I learned to spin, which means to rotate my feet faster rather than push a higher gear and cause excess muscle strain. I learned not to bounce. The funniest experience was trying to train on rollers. For those that do not know, rollers are just what they sound like. There are three rollers, two for the back tire and one for the front. You learn to balance your bike without bouncing. Why without bouncing? Because if you bounce you come off the rollers and head toward the nearest wall at full tilt. I learned this one the hard way. I learned to enjoy the smooth speed a bike provides. It is a great way to get some exercise and see the local sites. Get some good gloves and pants before you try longer distances. Always wear a helmet, another lesson you do not want to learn the hard way.
The road run:
Remember where this story began, in corrective shoes? Well, I did not. I forgot. Any lesson you forget, you will have the opportunity to relearn. I was running in inexpensive running shoes, when five miles from home, every bone in my foot came unglued. A good sports podiatrist set me straight. I had to train wiser in good shoes or give running up. Good shoes are the key. Many feet, ankle, knee, hip, back, and shoulder injuries and pain come from the body compensating for inadequate contact between the foot and the road. They come from the wrong shoes. Understanding your shoe wear pattern assists you picking the right shoes. Take your old ones to the shoe store. Show the salesperson the bottoms. If they are knowledgeable and competent, they can help you pick the right shoes for you.
I had begun running just for the cardiovascular work to help my martial arts training. I had run a few 10K road-races with my brother. The secret was to build up slowly. I think many injuries come from too much, too soon and too fast. Progressively increasing the distance slowly takes mental discipline and patience, but is always the wisest course. Increasing the distance too much and/or too soon only leads to injuries and further delays in training. It takes time for the body to adapt, adjust and accommodate the new workload that distance brings. Another error is running too fast. Pacing takes on a whole new meaning in endurance events. I liked to work up to one-third to one-half the distance goal as the average training run. Since I was going to run on the road, I needed to train on the road.
The fourth event; the transition:
What I had not been prepared for was the transition from one event to the other.
Coming out of the water and getting ready for the bike ride was a chore in itself. I always took the time to dry off and change out of my wet bathing suit into bike pants. The salt water tended to help make sand paper out of my thighs. Put on the helmet, the gloves and the shoes. A few seconds here helped on the miles ahead.
The same stood true for the transition from the bike ride to the run. Changing into my clothes to fit the event was extremely helpful and much more comfortable. Every time I did not change clothes, I wished I had. The legs always felt heavy but I soon learned the blood flow would change and I would find my pace. Okay, it was not a very fast pace, but it was my pace, and I did eventually find it.
What were my nutritional needs?
One of the things about endurance training is the amount of food I could eat and not gain weight. At times, I was surprised to see the amount of junk food endurance athletes consumed. The problem was it did not provide the best fuel for my body. At first, I only watched the caloric intake so that I could lose weight. The less weight I had to carry over the distance, the easier I figured it would be. Later, I also watched my fat intake. This helped me lose weight and feel better. I ate more protein and definitely more carbohydrates. Each person has to find their own program that works for them.
I certainly do not think I need to talk about the no smoking and limiting or eliminating alcohol. Many people, both elite and recreational, will begin to take performance-enhancing drugs. This is always a mistake.
How do you prepare yourself mentally?
Getting the head ready is just as important as getting the body ready. In fact, without getting the mind focused, it will not be able to guide the body through the training needed to complete or compete in endurance events such as a triathlon.
Goal setting is very crucial. Choosing an event that allows enough time to train is most important. Setting daily and weekly training goals and schedules will ensure the readiness of your mind and body.
Learning to relax the body is always an important part of mental training. Yes, the tension in the mind creates the tension in the body. So, relaxing is a mental training technique. Learn to take a deep breath and relax, let go of muscle tension.
After you relax, begin to establish a resource anchor. As you exhale, say the word "relax." After awhile, just the word "relax" will help the body let go of tension.
The laps and miles put in training will help you establish an internal coach. This self-talk fills the mind and tells your body what to do. Fear, anger and negativity are a waste of time and energy. Research indicates that staying positive, encouraging and focusing on the activity process (not the outcome) increases the effectiveness of the internal coaching.
Mentally rehearsing the course increases the likelihood that you will have a great performance.
How do you deal with aches, pains and injuries?
Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the least opportune time. Always plan a place for Mr. Murphy in your training.
Instead of no pain, no gain, we should say more brains, less pain. Pain is usually an indicator that something is wrong. Do not try to train through pain. Always get a good check-up from a competent sport medicine professional. Training wiser with good equipment minimizes the aches, pains and injuries.
A great rule to remember is R-I-C-E. Rest the injured part. Apply Ice. Apply Compression. Elevate the injury higher than the heart.
You can always tell people who have been training for years. There are always stories of injuries. We laugh now. We learned from them. You will too.
How do you deal with the event day?
Before any event, you should know you are ready. Do a checklist. Have you put in the required training in all three events? Is your equipment ready? Is your nutrition adequate? If the answers are yes, have a light meal and get to bed early.
It is not hard to transform fear and anxiety into excitement. The body gives the same signals. The mind needs to learn a new label. Too little excitement and there is not enough motivation for optimal performance. Too little excitement and there is an overload that hurts performance. A balance of excitement is important before, during and after the event.
How do you deal with post-event depression?
After an event is over there is nothing more you can do about it. A quick inventory can better prepare you for the next event. Spending too much time critiquing or criticizing one's performance only hurts the ego. The opposite of depress is express, so it is important to let out all thoughts and feelings surrounding the day's event. Depression is also a stage of grieving, after the day's event is over, let it go.
The best strategy I ever heard for post-event depression was to sign up for the next one just before the event. Then you instantly have another event to look forward to and train for. After the first triathlon, I had no idea I had 14 more to look forward to.
There are only three things you need to know. The first two are, what do you want to do and what do you have to do to get that? If you choose to do triathlons, you also have to choose to train wisely. You need to know what it takes to finish. The last thing you need to do is to do it. Train for the event. Show up and do your best. As I always say, "Relax, breathe and enjoy yourself." As Nike says, "Just do it."
Every so often, I remember a young boy with twisted legs and braces. I also look at the finishing photographs. I never finished fast or pretty. If I signed up for the start line, I always made it to the finish line. I wonder how it was possible for the two to fit together. This is my story. These are my legs. I know if I can do triathlons, anybody can if they want to.
Thanks for listening, for the opportunity to be of service, and for sharing the swim, the bike, the run, and all the other challenges we face together on the journey.
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