Benefits of Comparisons

I believe we are doing a huge disservice to ourselves and others by avoiding comparisons and competition. I understand the desire to protect self esteem, but in the process we are producing individuals who are deficient in coping with reality. Video link.

"A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor." - English Proverb

At the end of the day, the moments that are the most satisfying are the moments we do something outside of our comfort zone. This perseverance of effort/grit then serves as a driving force for future achievements.

Inspiration
Comparing ourselves to others can inspire us to new heights. Every year records provide individuals with goals to motivate and guide them.  

Why Not Me?

When faced with a challenge, gritty individuals ask themselves why not me? Seeing other teenagers go to the Olympic games, Katie Ledecky asked herself "Why not me?" She would go on to set world records in the 400, 800, & 1500 meter freestyle.

Change The Focus
Not everyone responds to a situation the same way. Learning from others, we can change our focus or our interpretation of a situation to make it more palatable. Victor Frankl coped with the German concentration camps by choosing to find meaning in even the most brutal situations and thus found a reason to continue living.

Hope

In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), we often encourage individuals in distress to: Compare themselves to those less fortunate OR Think about people coping the same as you or less well than you. It helps reframe situations and provides hope.

Cope With Disappointment
Seeing other people struggle, helps us with our own struggles. I was recently disappointed with my triathlon performance and feeling inadequate. A few weeks later I saw the world record holder in the Ironman, and quite a few others, struggle with similar stomach issues and it made me feel better. I realized disappointment happens a lot, even to the best of us, but we are still amazing people.

Keep Your Eyes Wide Open
Not all comparisons are equal and some can be destructive. Make sure to create a team around you, to keep your eyes wide open to your true value. People to challenge you, support you, and guide you.

Mind Gym

Endurance sports reporter Bob Babbitt noted a few common post race comments by athletes at the 2014 Ironman World Championships: The importance of nutrition and the mental aspects of the race. It reminded me of the famous crawl by Wendy Ingram & Sian Welch at the IMWC 1997 that took a lot of mental fortitude. Below are a few highlights from a book I recently read on fortitude called Mind Gym by Gary Mack. 

Self Image
How do you see yourself? Confidence goes a long way in alleviating perceived pain. People that are more confident tend to endure discomfort longer than people with less confidence. Do you see yourself as a good runner, cyclist, musician, computer tech, or parent? One way to improve confidence is through affirmations. Not by trying to convince yourself of something you are not, but by acknowledging and routinely reminding yourself of your strengths. "I may not be a math wiz, but I know where to go to find help and I have great relationship skills." By habitually recognizing your strengths, it is like watering a young flower and seeing it grow bigger and bigger. 

Go To Your Mind Gym
In times of stress go to a safe place. Mack calls it going to your mind gym. Taking time to relax allows one to recoup and perform better. Sometimes we only have a few seconds, other times we may have several minutes, but try to develop a visual image, a short phrase, or a routine that allows you to feel safe. Often I will relax my shoulders, take a deep breath, visualize a person I admire, or repeat the phrase "I am Strong and Capable" to refocus my energy. 

Focus on Process
If you want to pitch a perfect game what do you have to do? One could focus on being perfect, throwing strikes, or getting outs, but those are things outside of a player's control. Step back and ask yourself what do you have to do to achieve those results. Maybe it's a high leg kick or intentionally following through with each throw. What have you noticed from the past when you performed well? Do those things and you will increase the likelihood of achieving your desired outcome.

90% effort
Gary Mack highlights research that exerting 90% effort produces better results than giving 100%. Sprinters were told to run at either 90% or 100%. The sprinters that ran at 90% ended up running faster. The problem with giving 100% is that we often tense up and tighten the muscles that need to relax in order to perform well. If we tighten our quads and hamstrings at the same time, we can't move. Throughout the body are similar muscle systems working in tandem with each other. Focusing on 90% effort also allows us to hear and see things that might otherwise be missed when focusing solely on an objective. 

Race Nutrition

Stomach cramps at Kona, Raleigh, and Chattanooga have taught me some invaluable lessons. They also forced me to seek out new ideas. One such source was Dr Tamsin Lewis, who is a pro triathlete, Medical Physician, and former Brett Sutton athlete. She discusses race day nutrition here, here, and here. The following are some of the ideas that I plan to trial in the future.

Decongestants should be avoided race week. I used them in Raleigh to help me overcome a cold, but they ended up causing dehydration. Being hydrated before a race is of upmost importance as I can race with a runny nose, but not cramps.

NSAIDs (Aspirin) should be avoided race day. Lots of athletes take them to reduce pain, but they increased gastrointestinal (GI) acidity and thus impair digestion.

Proton Pump Inhibitors (Omeprazole, Prilosec) may help reduce GI acidity and GI problems during a race. This is a supplement that Dr Lewis recommends on race morning, but not on a routine basis. On race day athletes typically consume a lot of simple sugars, which are very acidic and can cause GI problems. Lewis recommends 20 mg with breakfast.

Activated Charcoal may reduce bloating and nausea from too much sugar consumption. This is another supplement recommended by Dr Lewis. No matter how conservative one is with their calorie consumption, issues may arise due to heat, pace, or other circumstances. Dr Lewis says she always takes 4 capsules (280 mg each) on the bike for a 70.3 and up to 6 for an Ironman.

Mustard may reduce cramps on the run. Professional triathlete Meredith Kessler is a big fan of mustard and carries individual packages during a race. Mustard is hypothesized to stimulate the flow of gastric juices to aid digestion.

Sea Salt on the tongue may reduce cramps. Salt, along with sugar, is an addictive food substance that makes us happy and has been linked to enhanced performance even before reaching the blood stream. BASE Performance markets small vials of sea salt to place on your thumb then mouth. I tried it during my run with Tiffany and the taste of salt helped cut the sweetness of the Coke while providing me with a mental boost. I plan to consume 1,000 mg sodium per hour on the bike and run.

Ensure Plus I typically consume Kefir and Heavy Cream for breakfast, but they must be refrigerated and could potentially spoil. Moving forward, I plan to consume 2 bottles of Ensure Plus. They are shelf stable and an easy to digest balanced mixture of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, providing 350 kcal per bottle.

U-Can I plan to continue consuming one serving, 15- 30 minutes before the race. I like the product because it does not spike my insulin levels pre-race, causing fatigued from a drop in blood sugar.

Calories I plan to reduce my calories from 90 grams to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Going from the upper estimated range to the lower estimated range allows me room to adjust during a race. Once you over-consume calories it's hard to correct. 60 grams per hour is a more conservative approach and being conservative has worked extremely well in other areas of training.

Water consumption may be the single biggest factor causing my issues. At Kona, volunteers lost my special needs bag and I became overly focused on calories neglecting water. At Raleigh, I tried to drink to thirst and ended up only consuming a minimal amount. At Chattanooga I planned to refill my water bottle 3 times at designated aid stations, unfortunately I neglected aid station #8 and thus missed out on 24 oz of water. It was just one too many things to think about during a race.

Keep It Simple Chris Borden, who was the overall amateur champion at IM Chattanooga has a simple approach to nutrition. He grabs water at each aid station. He doesn't have to remember when to grab water or fiddle with refilling his personal bottle, he just drinks at each aid station. Moving forward, I plan to have one bottle of plain water on the bike plus consume 8 oz at each aid station, which would provided me with the exact same 96 oz of plain water.

Coke I love my Chocolate Cherry Clif Bar Turbo Shots with 100 mg of caffeine, but I'm considering switching to Coke. It would be one less thing I had to carry or think about. Plus, Coke is already a liquid and therefore easier to digest than gels. It provides caffeine, it's readily available on the course, and seems to settle an upset stomach. My plan would be to consume Coke and water at each aid station along with an electrolyte supplement. I also plan to walk at each aid station from the Coke table to the last chance trash sign to save my legs for later in the race and help with calorie absorption.

Just wish I knew this before IM Chattanooga, but hopefully this will help others and me at future races. I take solace in knowing it took pro triathlete Meredith Kessler 40 Ironmans to fine tune her nutrition strategy. As always, practice in training before race day.

IM Chattanooga Race Report

Ironman Chattanooga 2014

Build Up & Training
2014 was to be the year of Tiffany's first Ironman. We discussed several races and finally decided on Chattanooga when it was announced the inaugural race would be on her birthday. My goals for the race were to break 9 hours and finish as the first amateur. After an up and down year where I became a little obsessed, I adjusted my goals to focus more on having fun while doing the best I could.

After my last race in Milwaukee, I had 7 weeks to focus on Chattanooga. I added an hour of steady cycling prior to my swim sessions and reduced my speed work & lifting to once a week. I was doing 2 higher intensity days with everything else being steady aerobic. I based my build up on Matt Dixon's new book and in conjunction with previous knowledge from Brett Sutton and Gordo Byrn. My big change was to do a 3 day taper. From what I read, it would keep me at peak fitness, while not losing the hard earned adaptations that typically decline during a traditional 2-3 week taper. With that said, one's weekly/monthly training has to account for the short taper. All in all it worked great. I never felt so strong and fast.  

Swim
Tiffany and I woke up at 4am (3.5 hr before race) and consumed our morning breakfast of Kefir, Heavy Whipping Cream, and Dextrose. Next we walked down to transition to put our nutrition on our bikes and in our run bags. Mike Reilly was already there greeting athletes and informing us that it would be a non-wetsuit swim. Tiffany and another athlete were happy, while everyone else was a little disappointed. From transition, shuttles were provided to transport athletes up the river for the swim start. It was very well organized and fast. Now came the waiting. It was 6 am and the race didn't start until ~7:30 am. Once the race started, the line moved pretty quick, but it was hard to know exactly how close you were to the start. The dock was a temporary platform that was assembled specifically for this race. It started in the grass and extended about 25 yards into the water. At 7:30 am I took one serving of U-Can to get me through the swim. Without much warning, at 7:45 am Tiffany and I were jumping into the water. We kissed and wished each other well. The water was comfortable and not too congested. I focused on sighting the buoys and turning over my arms. Before I knew it, I was finished. We had heard rumors of a current, but one never knows from hour to hour or day to day what the conditions will be. I looked at my watch and I had completed the swim in ~45 minutes (officially 44 minutes). I saw Holly, Val, and Cathy cheering, which helped fuel my competitive fire.

Bike
My transition was super smooth thanks to the non-wetsuit swim. I always have trouble getting those things off. The first section of the bike goes up a small climb, but I didn't even notice it as my legs felt great. I focused on breathing and staying steady. It was helpful knowing the course from our July expedition where we rode portions of the course twice. Soon there were several 35-45 year old athletes around me going about the same pace. I tried to stay in front and not draft. When a faster athlete passed, I picked up my speed and tried to stay with them without going anaerobic. Eventually I would usually pass them. There was one guy, on a black Dimond, that got away and I think he rode a 4:48 finishing as the top amateur. The course was fantastic, lots of small rollers, smooth roads, and scenic mountains in the distance. The town of Chickamauga, Ironman shuttled spectators out to this location, was hopping and I saw several Cincinnati folks. On the second loop, I slowly pulled away from others without increasing my speed too much. I really felt awesome. Coming home was a little lonely, but I had one age grouper and then one female pro in the distance to give me a carrot. My Castelli Free Tri shorts were the most comfortable shorts I've ever worn. I did not feel one ounce of discomfort throughout the whole race. After 116 miles, I finished with a time of 5:01 and an average of 23.1 mph.

Run
Transition went well and I was able to use the restroom prior to the run. The urge to pee was moderate, but once I started I couldn't stop. It felt like I was in there for 5 minutes. Once I started running, my stomach felt a little queasy, but I figured it would go away after a few miles. The course starts out on city roads before transitioning to a bike path along the river. It was pretty, but lonely. I did not see anyone until mile 5. Crossing the river, I was told I was 5th amateur and I soon passed another athlete. Then I passed a male pro, whom I congratulated on wearing my same awesome Asics Gel Hyperspeed 6 shoes. I could have run 100 miles in those 5.6 oz shoes. On this section of the course, there were a few small climbs and the pounding from the descents really upset my stomach. I tried slowing down on the calories and increasing the water, but nothing helped. I saw another athlete up ahead and focus on catching them. As I got closer and closer to mile 13.1, I thought about quitting. My stomach was in such pain that I didn't think I could continue. I didn't know if I was coming down with the cold my wife had earlier in the week or if I over-consumed calories on the bike. All I wanted to do was go to the medical tent. After the special needs bags I started to walk. I eventually sat down at the side of the road and tried to throw up. Nothing came up. I talked to a few friends, but nothing motivated me to continue. On the other side of the street, I saw Kevin Severs finishing mile 7 and decided to call it a day. He encouraged me to continue, sharing stories of friends who had quit and always regretting it. I also heard another friend was slowly approaching and I decided to walk thinking that I could chat with him for awhile. In a surprising twist, Tiffany caught me during her first loop. It was exciting to see her and I was relieved she was doing so well. We walked and eventually started a slow jog. I was feeling better and she encouraged me to go ahead. In total, I walked for about 4 miles at 18 mph pace, losing 70-90 minutes. I switched over to coke and water and walked the aid stations. With each mile, I felt better and better. Once I finished, I decided to go back out and run Tiffany's second loop with her. Run split was 4:20 with a finish time of 10:13.

Questions
At this time, I'm really not sure what happened. I prepared the same amount of calories I've trained with and used at IM Lake Placid. I was careful on the bike to consume enough water and even skipped a few calorie sessions when I felt the slightest discomfort. I stopped calories with 5-10 miles to go and focused on plain water. Maybe I need to be more conservative and consume fewer calories? Maybe I needed more water? Maybe I had a slight stomach virus? Maybe my dietary changes affected my ability to consume large amounts of simple sugars? It's really frustrated because I was in the best shape of my life and had the potential to break or come close to breaking 9 hr. Part of me wants to rationalize and block out the pain, but another part of me is saying experience the disappointment, that it's natural to mourn the loss of an opportunity.

Positives

• On the plus side, I was able to run with Tiffany for 13.1 miles during her second loop. She did amazing and I had fun experiencing it with her. At mile 23, I realized she could break 14 hr, which was in sharp contrast to her fears the day before of finishing within the 17 hr cut off. In true Tiffany fashion, she sprinted the final mile. Once I caught up, we held hands crossing the finish line. 
• It was nice to experience what other athletes go through when the sun goes down. There is such camaraderie among the athletes and volunteers. 
• I made the race recap video at minute 3:40. 
• My mother in law bought me a fantastic Patagonia trucker hat and these amazing light weight taupe Cushe slippers.
• I also learned a lot about ultra-running, gear, and races in Chattanooga during my visits to Rock Creek.