tri-to-be

[tri-to-be]

Never knew this until it happened to me... and am I am athlete?

[tri-to-be]

Ironman

This one is definitely going into my bucketlist. 

I was lucky enough to cover the recent Ironman 70.3 event in Cebu.

[tri-to-be]

How I am slowly beating Obesity

August 2017

I did it! I have officially beaten obesity... for now, that is.  

About 10 years ago, when i was 120+ kg at the age of 36 if felt it was about time I got fit again.  Motivated by various factors, I started jogging several times a day.  Mostly 2-3 km is all what i could do.  I then moved on to the gym which was more an excuse to escape some home issues, and that in itself never worked for me, but somehow i quickly dropped under 110kg which was a substantial difference where people start to notice.  Seriously, it didn't take much.  Then I got serious and changed diets, still kept running 3-4km’s because I thought that was an adequate distance that normal people run as well. I even went cleansing for a week which was great and inspirational and it helped me drop to just above 100kg. but my BMI remained well over 30.

And there i stayed..... 

But my life kept changing, and I got diagnosed with hypertension. This was the first sign of my body telling me it was on the route to hell.  Then, a neighbor invited me to go cycling, and he nearly killed me on the ride (and I am Dutch and born on 2 wheels).  But I loved it and when on and on and joined his club that rides 100km each Sunday in the blistering tropical heat of Thailand. I went from “the guy who gets dropped” to “the fat guy who can pull you home”.  It was my first addition and a weekly must-do to keep me sane.  i loved the calorie burn and enjoyed the muscles i was forming in my legs. I started imagining that somehow, I could out-cycle diabetes and heart decease, as long as I kept pushing. I was determined to reverse my hypertension.

“I started imagining that somehow, I could out-cycle diabetes and heart decease, as long as I kept pushing”

Then I was introduced to triathlons. the Swim-bike-run combo that seems to make no sense as I could swim, but never mastered more then 2-3 laps.  But I decided to give it a try and joined a starters event (sprint distance) and immediately got hooked.  Why, you might ask? because I was already a strong cyclist and only needed to improve the other 2. Sounds simple?  I did it anyway and finished event after event and learned and improved and started working toward my first Half Ironman distance (70.3 - or a 1,9km swim, 90km bike and a half marathon of 21km).  I was still hopping between 99kg and 106kg but it didn’t matter as I felt fit.  I started referring to myself as “Fit-Fat”.

“I nearly collapsed and was send to the hospital in Hong Kong with the diagnosis of a possible heart attack.”

Suddenly after 2 weeks of intercontinental travels, drinking and running, I nearly collapsed and was send to the hospital in Hong Kong with the diagnosis of a possible heart attack. Of course this is scary, and I could not comprehend this as I am fit(fat).  The next day after series of tests I was presented that I did not have a heart attack and that the symptoms were likely caused by excessive fatigue and dehydration by alcohol.  However, they did find sign of the beginning of heart decease, as they measured a blockage in one of the arteries.  Furthermore, they noticed my resting heart rate is too low, so I might require a pace maker.  You can imagine what went though my mind that day. WTF.  They explained to me that the nurse was visiting me so often since my HR would drop below 45 and this triggered and alarm at the nursing station.  Obviously I went on google and read up on all the issues and ... voila..... one explanations was found:   The resting heartbeat of an athlete can fall below 40 beats per minute. When you exercise, your heart works harder when other muscles in the body pump more blood back to the heart. The major muscles of the legs have large veins that fill during the relaxation stage of the movement, and the muscle contraction in the active movement pushes the blood back into the circulatory system. Increasing blood flow triggers a faster heartbeat. Because the heart muscle of conditioned athletes enlarges and strengthens, the hearts of athletes pump more blood per beat. An athlete's maximum heart rate, as well as resting heart rate, falls below the pace of the average heartbeat.

It took me a while to convince the doctors i was an athlete, and even showed some of my finisher results.  If I can finish a half ironman in 6 hours, i am an athlete. The pacemaker discussion quickly disappeared. 

Now there is one part I haven’t shared.  2 years before ending up in the hospital, I got inspired by the “plant based diet can reverse hear disease” theory that I decided to adopt some of that.  I stopped eating meat but kept dairy and fish.  So here is my question to myself: Did I prevent serious heart decease by going off meat and dropping my cholesterol to below 60 two years earlier?  Only my body knows the answer to that.

“Did I prevent serious heart decease by going off meat and dropping my cholesterol to below 60″

Once returned home, I went to see a cardiologist and she cleared me for endurance sports and gave me high marks for the stress test.  She told me, you only have 2 out of the 5 symptoms. Obesity and hypertension.  Today this is down to one (still have hypertension).

2 years after that first meeting with the cardiologist I finished my full ironman distance in just over 14 hours at 106kg (starting weight - lol).  Today my BMI is still 30+, but i am truly Fit-Fat.

PS: I want to recognize the athlete who recently died during the swim lap in the Cobra Ironman 70.3.  I have often though about dying during a race and it has always given me a feeling of peace, not fear.  This Athlete died of heart failure during the swim.  He was in the same age as me and I don't know if we met, either on the beach before the race or at other races.  We might have crossed each other many times. RIP my friend, you will not be forgotten,  Wishing strength to those you left behind.

[tri-to-be]

Cebu IM 70.3 changes the challenge each time

This is my 3rd rodeo on the Cobra Cebu Ironman and this 2017 edition I was ready to rock.  I had shaven off 40 minutes in 2016 from my 2015 first time race and I was determined to come in with a 6hour or less finish time. Since I completed the full in early December, I have had nothing but bad races.  So I refocused and was determined to be ready for Cebu to at least make a decent appearance.  I did feel somewhat weak on the bike training but I had decided to end a little slower on the bike to regain on the run.  

Reality kicked in during the swim as the long stretch which was into the current provide harder, at when nearing the end many swimmers were clustered up and it became a tough challenge battling fellow swimmers for space and pace.  once out of the turn the swim was a quick finish. Time stamp: plus 15 minutes from 2016.... ouch.

Onto the bike where it became apparent it was a very hot day. Normally 3-4 bottles will do for a 90kn ride but I was separate for water that I literally stopped at most stations to ensure I had 2 bottles.  In total I consumed at least 3 bottles of gatorade and had 2 water refills aside from what I had with me from transition.  sure, so it was hot.... I returned +15 mins at 3h flat. now off to the run.

OMG i could not run. the heat was pounding hard.  I had trained my bike to run substantially but this was not the problem.  this was heat and the additional fatigue of the 30 mins delay.  I had some tempo but it wasn't great.  I would estimate 45c in the sun at least and 37-38 in the shade w no breeze.  Thankfully after the first lap some overcast made i bearable and I finished the race, crossing the line at 7:10 an new Personal Worst.

But I didn’t collapse, like many others did and I didn’t DNF either. This being my 10th 70.3 I do hope to set at least a PB in 2017.... and I have just one more chance for that in Phuket this November.  Lets see.!

[tri-to-be]

Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson has spent his career putting Exxon’s profits above the needs of people and the environment, and now he could become the U.S. Secretary of State. Handing the reins of American diplomacy to the head of the world’s largest private oil company is blatantly corrupt — and very dangerous for the planet.

Call your senators today and tell them to REJECT REX. 

[tri-to-be]

this is very true.  Its hard to motivate and the next race is always just around the corner... but do we want to train.... nah...  recovery, my man....

Life After Ironman

Motivation is tough after an Ironman. I knew it would be, so I only signed up for short stuff this fall, and it’s been going well – but the longest run I’ve done since the big day has been 8 miles. While I’ve been doing well with the shorter things, I can feel my regular end of the year, holiday slump coming on. I have a duathlon coming up, a beginner cyclocross race, and a Thanksgiving 5k. My care meter is low on all of them. I just registered for a 70.3 in mid June. That’s super early for New England, so there won’t be much OWS time. Maybe 4 sessions at best? Right now, thinking of 4 and 5 hour workouts makes me want to pre-barf, but my hope is that this will give me a way to stay focused and not-depressed during a Maine winter. I’ve always been excited when I signed up for races. This time? Dread. Just hoping I know myself well enough that this will be a good thing during the winter. I’ve only ever done one half, and I had lots of mechanical trouble. This course is also much faster and flatter than Timberman, so I will hopefully have some big success for myself. Here’s hoping. For now, pushing it out of my mind…. Will let it back in on January first. I still haven’t ordered IMLP finish line pictures. Maybe I’ll do that.

[tri-to-be]

Funny to see the Nike swoosh here... they don't do anything it the Trick business...

[tri-to-be]

What they don’t tell you when deciding on doing your first Ironman.

Once you have been bitten by the endurance bug, some of us decide to go for the holy grail in Triathlons; the Full Ironman distance of 3,8km swim, the 180km on a bike followed by the full marathon.  Most people will never experience anything like this and many of us are attracted by the dream that is presented by the marketing guru’s of IronMan and Challenge alike.  After realizing it will take a good 6 months of training - and clearing that with those around you such as your family that won’t see you anymore on most weekends as you will be out training somewhere - you decide to go for it.

The average Full Ironman distance registration fee is just under US$ 1,000.  This gives your between 8 to 17 hours of suffering on race day and about 400  lonely training hours which will cost you another US$ 1,000 or more in coaching fees. Throw in your travel at US$ 500 - 2,000 (domestic or international travel) and your physio due to some injuries, bike maintenance, outfits, wetsuits, new shoes and you are on a roll financially. And since we are already digging deep lets make sure we have top bike gear for at least another US$ 5,000 to get us over the finish line. Yes, triathlons can be one of the most expensive sports i know that does not involve engines or live animals (although sometime the athletes are difficult to distinguish)  For this  investment,  you get the satisfaction knowing that you have an “Iron Will” (TM) according to IronMan promo video’s, are a focussed achiever in life, get a trinket medal and bragging rights for life.  In other words, you can set your mind to ZERO and just keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny only to prove that you can be part of the “elite” finishers. The entire dream has been pre-created and is echoed by many triathletes, especially those who have never done an Ironman.

Ironman is indeed all in the mind. and the less you use your mind the easier it becomes because the more your grey cells start wondering if that strange feeling in your calf could become the end of your race, the more likely it will happen.  Unlike in the game of golf where your mind is like a roller coaster because you earn instant satisfaction of a great shot and depression after a flunked one, Ironman has not much to offer along the way.  Somehow it is boring as you are not really racing but controlling mind and body to keep the pace at max.  Its easy to slack off as your mind wonders off and lowers the pace. A simple pass of a biker or runner  might bring you back to your senses, but you know that at some point that person is likely to do the same to you as we all vary in pace at different times. Ironman is the ultimate race not against yourself, but against your mind and of course your training.

What is interesting is how the mind works on long distances.  I am sure the body fuels some of the thought but in the end, I noticed that the things around me, or rather distracting me, are the ones that keep me going.  I find myself riding and worrying about my knee when it started feeling tight and since my muscles are getting sore, the next thought is about how to even start the run and complete that full marathon. Suddenly my attention is grabbed by a pothole I need to avoid, then I notice the scenery which I vividly enjoy and promptly I am back in good shape.  This - in various forms - happens numerous times.   Aside from that, we are being bombarded with quotes like “this too, will pass”, “just get this over with” and “just take it as another training day”  But we know that once we are in those final kilometers everything will be forgotten and emotion with “I did this” will draw us past the finish line for a few seconds of fame as they call our name as we approach the famous red carpet.  Yes, me too i have dreamed many times of hearing the words, “Marcel; you are an Ironman”. Or so I thought.

But let’s backtrack a little to discuss the months before the race, and start with the training plan.  First, the excitement fuels the first phase your training, where you have to relearn the way you run and bike.  This is where you start to go long and easy, doing things differently and of course enjoy waking up at 6am every day to get that part out of the way. It was fun seeking my hotels during my many business trips and qualify them as “training Hotels”  Who has the right pool size, or a park where we can run.  I even blogged about it in Trip Advisor and rated some hotels purely on Triathlon training capabilities.    The next stage that follows about 3 months inwards was that of fatigue.  The training gets boring, your body is getting tired and your mind is looking for excuses. It was getting harder  to wake up and getting sleep was deemed a higher priority leaving the trainings to the evening with work distractions on your mind and finding every shortcut along the way.  It was getting truly tough.  This is also the period where suddenly minor injuries creeped up such as rotor cuff pains making swimming a real struggle for me.  What followed was logical; depression.  the “I am not ready” phase slowly overtakes and you wonder why no progress what made for weeks  until something makes you realize you are really full of shit and gets you out of that cycle.  My great friend and triathlete Daniel Schwalb, who actually got me on a bicycle 8 years ago that started this madness, and dragged me to my first sprint, reminded me during my whining and ranting about the famous Rule#5 of the Velominati ; “Harden the F@&* up!”.

From there on you are just 6-8 weeks out and you are getting excited again.  This is where you do you long (and super boring) bricks, runs and rides and realize that after each training you have plenty of energy left.  Recovery feels like a breeze and the 70.3 distance feels like a run in the park.  Its an amazing feeling of fitness strength.  At this point you are cautious to avoid any kind of injury as you have come this far already, then in the Taper weeks you wonder if this is the right  thing to do and why you should’t push for that last bit… but I believed in my Coach Tabitha Bond and she was just spot on on what would work for me.

On race day i had no clue if I was going the complete this and the only thing I had going for me was to believed Tabitha that I was ready.  My conservative estimates came out to 16 hours so i would have an hour to spare before cut off.  I had never ran a marathon before the IM, not even during the training where it stopped at 35km.  I had no clue what to expect next.  The horn sounded, and the familiar swim battle, took place.  It would be a 1,9km swim around the 1,8 km long Jetty and back.  I took an easy pace with long strokes, focussed on my rotations and lightly added my legs to pivot.  I made sure I stayed the course (straight) which did not always work as planned, but it was good enough, and the “with sighting” drills paid off.  after the u-turn around the jetty the adrenaline kicked in again that made me care less about the chafing caused by the wetsuit.  I got close, hit the beach and started making my way to transition… A guy next to me asked for the time (I had decided beforehand not to care as it is what it is) and saw 1:15. I was amazed and happy and dashed to T1… I was on a roll and felt great!.  Once on the bike I knew I had decided on a conservative safe pace (28kmph) and just kept it for 6:30 hours making sure I focused on my nutrition above all.  I ate, I drank, stopped to pee and I peddled. There is really little excitement in this part of the race at all (and I love cycling!). Arrived in T2, I seriously start worrying about the bike-to-run which has caused me and others great trouble in the past for many kilometers. Again a glimpse on the watch and it showed a flat 8:00 total time whilst dashing out of the transition. That would leave me a whopping 9 hours to finish the run.  OMG!  The smile continued and the run was smooth from the beginning short of some minor pains in the lower abdomen, nothing i couldn’t manage. After 10k of mainly conservative running with some short brisk walks I checked for the first time my Heart Rate which to my amazement was 112!  I cursed myself for being conservative and had limitations in my mind and picked up the pace from there.  I stopped for a Red Bull after 20km and kept increasing the pace.  I was going to be early!  It was getting dark and cold now. At 40km a pain hit my knee and despite all efforts, running was over.  but who cared! Yes this added 20-30 minutes to my time but I was well within my race targets and only this joint, not the rest of the body, was giving me a sign of struggle.  Now here in the story I will add that I weighed 104kg at the start of the race.  As a heavy set and overweight (and medically borderline obese with a BMI of 36) athlete my knees are obviously suffering.  Moving close to the finish the familiar thought of making sure you look good for the photo started coming and once the carpet was in sight, I high five’d my way to the finish line.  The victory was bitter sweet despite arriving 2 hours ahead of my expected scenario.

What happened next you don’t hear about either.  I read in an article that during an Ironman, an Age Grouper research has shown that many of the organs age by about 40years in comparison during the race.  It recovers in just a few weeks but it takes a hit.  For me I could no longer read my phone text without glasses which thankfully restored within a day.  I also had bladder issues where I could not hold my pee for a long time - Ithis recovered as well but took about a week.  Wether that was because of the salt intake or a combo of others I will leave to the scientists.  my knee recovered in just days and after a week I started some simple training again.

As today I am an Ironman and for that I feel proud,  However, I don’t feel as gratified as I would expect myself to be.  I felt like going for a super long walk, not a race of any kind.  Maybe unless you are in a higher league of racing, but a 70.3 offers all the right excitement for a triathlon. the Full only offers your the right to show you are physically awesome, at a huge cost on your body, family and finance.  When asked, would i do it again…… Yeah sure, but then race at your peak all the way.

[tri-to-be]

AGREED.

[tri-to-be]

Ironman Depression - so little talked about

We are all heroes when it comes to the moment we pass the finish line of the “impossible” Ironman distance.   many of us train for months, some even years and many give up so many things, like family time, alcohol, social time etc.  We call them junkies in their own right because there is little else they can talk about.

But I must admit that during my training I also encountered a depression, a period where your mind just wants to give up, you body aches everywhere and joints hurt beyond the normal.  I read very little about this and didn’t really recognize it in the beginning.  Unlike my one week fasting experience a couple of years back where, upon starting the 7 day fast, I was told it was highly likely to get emotional with a mild depression halfway the one week experience.  I recall my wife calling me at 2 am in the morning when it was her turn, telling me this was stupid, it was meant to tear us apart and she would file for divorce upon her return.  She returned happy and in a better state of mind then she left and yes, we are still together.  When you know you are likely going to hit such a low, you can prepare for having friends and family be ready to support you.

In my case that didn’t happen.  I would lie about competing my training sets, sleep late, instead of waking up early to complete the sets first thing so I could continue my day.  i would set myself up to fail but starting late and hitting the road in full sun (I live in the tropics) and burn out too fast.  This lasted for about 3 weeks and my Weekend sessions, the long and hard ones, ended up being wasted.  When you are depressed you mind tells your body to shut down no matter what.  you have an eternal fatigue and even through I can feel I have the power in my legs to continue , my mind would still shut me down.  First I thought it was lack of nutrition, maybe even jet lag but slowly I realized I wanted to give up my dream and only then i recognized that I was going through a training depression.  I am still 75 days out to the race..... now what.  do I take a break, what to do?   i spoke to my coach who first of all said that its normal, and that in terms of condition training I was already at the level to complete the race so if we had to move to maintenance level only, we could do that. It was a good option but I felt like betraying myself taking it easy thinking I had done enough.  It would start playing tricks on my mind during the race where I would be telling myself that I am NOT ready because i didn’t train hard enough.  Another friend, and former Olympian who got me into this sport gave me a very short answer that I took to hart;  “rule #5 buddy!!”  Rule #5 for those not familiar, refers to the Rules of the Velominati - the rules of peloton cycling etiquette.  Rule number # 5 sticks out of all the other rules because it is the only motivational rule in the book.  rule # five is :” toughen the fuck up”.

And yes, I needed to stop being a whiny boy and snap out of this.  I am training for an IRONMAN finish which is not for everyone, it is for guys who toughen up and take it as it is and continue anyway.  Shortly after I finished a 35km mountain “ultra-half marathon” which had a 1000 ft (300m) elevation.  Going up was fine but I was untrained for the descent and the breaking forces knocked the bejesus out of me.  I decided to rest and sleep for a week with light training, swims and spins and now I am back in the game.  Just finished a 30km training run at 37c and I lasted fine.  I am back but now I shall be better prepared.

For you, my fellow athlete, speak about this before it happens with those who support you so you can snap out early and have fun in your long and boring path to becoming an Ironman.

(about the Author:  marcel is a heavyweight triathlete at 100kg (220lbs) and no slender fast athletic person.  he works internationally and trains 6 days a week to fulfill his dream of eternal bragging rights, often traveling with his bicycle to other countries and selecting hotels based on training programs..  He enjoys writing and sharing experiences.)

[tri-to-be]

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A post shared by Dennis (@dhenztm)

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[tri-to-be]

Love this :)

[tri-to-be]

What to eat during a Triathlon

The longer your races get, the more important your nutrition will be.  By no means I have any educated opinion in this field but as a Triathlete training for the full distance Ironman I do have experiences to share. It is more from what i learned when it goes not the way i want.  The more you race, the more you realize all races are different and your body and mind will get you past the finish line in totally different conditions.

Depending at what level you race, you will have had certain experiences.  I represent those that end in the top 30%.  If you look careful, the top 20% represents the 10% elite triathletes, the balanced guys and at the tail end athletes who have at least one strength.  For me this is the bike, as i grew up riding long distances to school as a kid, rain or shine, then did’t touch a bike for 2 decades and now back in the saddle and I have caught up with a vengeance. My 90km distances are at an 34-35kmph average, a steady pace that I still question might be too fast as i lack on the run.  If you are not a runner like me, you know exactly what i mean.  Running 21km in a steady pace is somewhat impossible and even if I slow on the bike, I haven;t seen the impact of it.

But as I train to finish my first 140.6 I have realized I am meeting new boundaries.  Short of saying this is part of training, a recent experience brought my focus purely on nutrition.   I was doing a Brick training; the objective was to ride 4h30 then followed by a 1h30 run.   Not unusual and quite a stretch.  the 6 hours would be equivalent for my 70.3 finishing time and this should have set off some alarm bells.  During a race we ensure nutrition before and during the race and on the bike I take 3-4 gels and then use electrolytes and water station nutrition (Banana’s and gels) for the run.  I live in Asia so I train in 30c or higher which is an added handicap.  This Brick, I ensured a breakfast of a sandwich, coffee and a vitamin/mineral laden water bottle before the start.  I decided not to ride the open road but the airport loop, a 23.4 km bike lane.  Boring but idiot proof.I started a 7am for my first lap and after 3 laps I stopped for a coffee and had boiled eggs and electrolyte drinks (100plus). I did 2 more laps and had to refill the water and had another egg and more drinks. i completed the 143km (at 31kmph average - as i intended to stay steady and keep HR down to zones 2/3 and maintain energy levels up.

I put the bike in the car feeling fresh and ready, changed into my shoes and off i went with a camelback to ensure water supply.  After 300 meters I could feel the burn in my chest. i was determined to finish a 12-13 km lap in my 90 minute time allocation but as I kept running I could not manage to find any pace at all. The blistering heat, no shade and boring stretch didn’t help but it is not new to me.  I manages 8.6km only in the 1h19 minutes I ran.

the entire run time was exhausting.  I am not new to the bike-to-run challenge but this felt different.  I discussed the matter with my coach and we concluded that it lacked nutritional planning.  the eggs were just protein and not the needed calories.  On the bike, as it was slow and steady i burned 3,400 calories and used 2 gels, aside from the 3 drinks.  in short, I added around 4 calories .  by the time I got the the run, there was not enough carbs left in my body which made it what it was.

I am strongly advised to revisit the race nutrition concept and I admit that only by doing it wrong i feel i earned to appreciate ti so I can do it right in the future.

#triathlonnutrition #70.3 #triathlon 

[tri-to-be]

The moment you realize your date is a triathlete ...

[tri-to-be]

SHAAAAAAARK!

[tri-to-be]

Awsome truth!

The night before your big race…