Set Higher Standards by YogiRavi

The biggest insight I’ve ever had in making a dietary shift, is to not focus on what you are taking away (e.g. fried food, processed sugar, etc.) but instead to focus on what you are adding (e.g. more water, fresh fruits, greens, etc.).

Focus intently on what good things (or habits) you are adding and then you will find that the bad things will naturally have less room to fit in and you’ll lose appetite for them over time.

My afternoon snack a work yesterday, an MASSIVE organic nectarine from a family farm in eastern Washington. I get a weekly delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables from this farm and the quality is incredible http://tinysorganic.com/

I saw part of this passage as a preface to a strategy document I was reading at work today. The bold part really speaks to me.

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

President John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1962, at Rice University, Houston, Texas

I get asked all the time why I enjoy endurance triathlon and trail runs and other big goals that test my limits to some degree. I do these things because it helps me really see what I am capable of. I also believe that excellence in one part of life does translate into other parts of life – even if the goal is ultimately not accomplished as planned. When I am focused in my training, it is easier to focus at work, focus on great nutrition and focus on building quality relationships with friends.

When I am moving towards a worthy goal, it takes the “slack” out of my life and helps me achieve and focus more in many other areas. The collateral benefits of setting and working towards big goals are huge.

A "buddha" in my apartment with a wounded knee. I can relate.

You would never build your dream home on a sandy beach. You would seek out a solid piece of bedrock or pour a sturdy foundation, and then create your masterpiece.

Likewise, it pays to focus on the foundations of any task. Clear and concise writing and speech at work. Technique and drills while swimming, running or cycling. Proper alignment, breath (pranayama) and focus (dhristi) in a yoga practice. Nutritional basics like getting plenty of clean water every day.

The most dramatic changes can be found not through fancy supplements, hot-tips or anything you buy. They can found by getting back to the fundamentals of whatever skill you are practicing, and mastering them as best you can.

Over the long-term, mastering the basics will slowly, but inevitably set you up for success. I say “slowly” because at first, especially if you do not have a great grasp on the basics, you may actually get worse before you get better – case in point is barefoot/minimalist running, but over time you’ll be better than ever. The trick is to focus on the longer-term and not let any near-term setback derail you.

Here I am teaching a yoga class to members of my triathlon team (VO2 Multisport) in the park near my home. Most folks were relatively new to yoga. What I love about teaching newer students is that they are so receptive to guidance - since there is no preconceived notion of how to do the poses, especially when it comes to instructions for safe/healthy alignment.

Talent is something that is innate. You are born with it and if lucky enough to notice and nurture it during your formative years, can achieve some level of success.

Skill, on the other hand, is developed through practice. Practice that can take result in massive capacity for achievement, as a result of months or even years of steady and consistent work.

For any endeavor there is a combination of talent and skill that come to bear in order to determine the final outcome.

A highly talented person with a very poor work ethic will not achieve success over the long-term, though some “lucky” moments of short-term success are bound to occur. Think about the students who seem to get A’s without studying, or the high school swimmers who crush school records with poor physical shape and a lazy attitude in practice.

However, someone with a dedicated focus on cultivating skill will slowly – and inevitably – become successful over the long-term, even if the gains take a while to show up.

If I had to choose between being innately talented – or highly skilled – I’ll take the latter any day, even it requires some hard work on my part to develop.

Skill, once developed, is enduring. The trick is to not give up too soon.

Nice hardware!

Headed to Lake Stevens last Sunday for a half-ironman triathlon. The half-ironman distance is now being referred to as ’70.3′ as this is the combined distance in miles of the swim/bike/run legs combined. I still like calling them half-ironman races since the term 70.3 doesn’t really mean much in my mind.

With just a couple of weeks of recovery from the White River 50, my legs were not sore but definitely were feeling tired in the lead-up to the race. My primary motivation for racing were to join a bunch of other athletes from my team, VO2 Multisport, and also to race what was sure to be a very scenic bike course (and one I rode in training a few weeks ago). The weather was also promising to be awesome, with temperatures in the 70′s with some cloud cover in the morning.

Pre-Race

I like races where you can just roll up a few minutes – maybe an hour – before the start, register and go. This was NOT one of those races! By chance I was talking with a friend who was racing as well on Friday night (the race was on Sunday) and she mentioned that we needed to check in on Saturday. I had no clue since I hadn’t read any of the pre-race instructions yet, saving that task for the night before the race. Indeed, all athletes needed to make the drive up to Lake Stevens, check-in and drop off their bikes, then drive back up on race day! I drove up, took care of things and then returned back home for an early dinner, a short run and some stretching.

The swim course.

My race gear:

• Swim: TYR Hurricane 5 wetsuit, Blue Seventy mirrored goggles, DeSoto 1-piece triathlon racing suit
• Bike: Cervelo P3 w/ Williams Carbon Wheels (80mm deep), sunglasses (I didn’t end up using), race belt, Shimano shoes
• Run: Brooks GTS Racer shoes, visor

My nutrition plan was:

• Swim: nothing
• Bike: 250 calories/hr (2 packs chomps and hammer gel flask with 5 gels), 2 endurolytes per hour; one bottle water per hour (it wasn’t very hot)
• Run: 8 ounces of coke per hour; 8 ounces water per hour (at most….adjust depending on temperature)

My goal pacing was:

• Swim: take it easy, 35 minutes.
• Bike: stick to 140 watts on the first lap and 150 watts on the second (my FTP is 175 if you know what that means). this was a conservative plan, but again I wanted to be able to run strong. Shooting for 3 hours but the goal was to stick to the wattage plan and whatever time that resulted in would be fine. Hoped for a 3 hour or faster bike time.
• Run: first 5K 8 min/miles; next 10K 7:45 min/miles; last 5K 7:30 min/miles or faster. Time of ~1:40 or so.
• Total time: 5hrs 20mins (assume 2:30 transitions)

The rocketship (1103). Due to my late signup (I registered 5 days before the race), I had the world's worst transition spot. I had to run all the way through the transition zone to enter/leave.

Swim

The swim went in waves – each with ~100 people. As such, the start was relatively calm. The course was simple, a long rectangle. There was also a wire running under the water (the buoys were tied to it) that you could follow to make sighting a non-issue. I never ended up seeing the wire once, since there were so many folks crowded around it. I just swam a little off to the side, and out of the crowds.

Each wave jumped off the dock in the distance and tread water between the yellow buoys for a few minutes before a horn was blown to signal the start.

Sighting went well, floated in and out of drafts. At one point was kicked in the head pretty hard but shook that off and it didn’t slow me down much.With the wave start – was reeling in swimmers from previous waves. Came out of the water feeling good and had a feeling my time was decent (wasn’t sure of that, didn’t see a clock).

Bike

Started off the bike conservatively, letting my legs warm up and as usual a boatload of people past me. The course was a hilly 25 mile loop done twice (plus an out and back portion back to the transition area to make it a full 56 miles). I slowly built up to a steady pace, and closing out on my first loop, my power numbers were a little high (averaged 150 watts for the first lap). I wasn’t so worried about it since I felt very fresh and didn’t feel like I was pushing.

Throughout the bike I saw a bunch of friends who were also racing. Focused on nailing my nutrition and hydration and came off the bike with a time that was slower than expected, but my average watts were what I planned and my legs felt pretty fresh.

Came off the bike with 148 average watts (or so), averaged a little over 18mph with over 3 hours on the clock. Wasn’t so happy with the total time but other than that felt good.

Run

Run out? Sure! But first...to the porta potty!

Hit the porta potty and then started the run. Off the bike my feet (I’ve been battling plantar fascia issues for the past 5 months) hurt pretty bad. That was normal and I just took it easy for a couple of miles for my feet to loosen up. At one point, I stopped and took off my left shoe, convinced there was a rock in it…there was no rock…it was just the muscles in my feet all bound up! That stop cost me about 45 seconds.

After 20 minutes my feet relaxed and I was able to pick up the pace. My strategy of taking in 2-4 ounces of coke and then alternating with water at each aid station worked wonderfully well. I skipped a few aid stations since I felt well hydrated and didn’t want to overdo it. I am a huge fan of racing on Coke….the stuff is incredible and I’ve had no stomach issues using it for IMCDA, White River 50 or in this race.

The sun started to come out and I was dumping water on my head and staying cool, but felt good overall and after the first lap, picked up the pace a little. I also had to make a porta potty stop that cost me just over a minute of time. Next time I need to be sure about eating dinner earlier the night before and sticking to a liquid breakfast!

VO2 Inspiration Station! Photo by Cindy Bigglestone (I think).

With about 5K to go, I picked up the pace again, running as hard as I could. With a mile to go I was really was going all out. I couldn’t have gone faster if a tiger was chasing me. I looked at my watch and realized that a sub 1:40 run split was possible if I really pushed. During the last few miles it became obvious to me that I should have pushed harder on the first lap. I left too much on the table again.

I cross the line totally exhausted but relieved to be done.

While I didn’t beat my time goal I was very close, and my splits were almost dead-on to what I wanted. Without my porta-potty stops (two of them) and my little shoe incident I would have been very close to my time goal.

The final score:

The final score!

Lessons

I learned a bunch of things in this race.

1. Pay attention to your meals the day before and morning of a race. I was very relaxed going into this race. Since my previous few races were longer (IMCDA and White River), I really was totally relaxed and not one bit nervous for this one. As a result, I didn’t pay as much attention to my pre-race nutrition plan. The porta potty stops were totally preventable by eating a lighter dinner earlier the day before and having a liquid breakfast.
2. At Ironman races they pass out skinny water bottles on the bike course, and these bottles slip right out of the bottle cage on my bike when I stand out of the saddle to climb! I never noticed this before, but lost two bottles due to this. I need to replace that downtube bottle holder with a Gorilla Cage.
3. I stuck to my wattage plan on the bike, but probably left 10 minutes (at least) on the table. I should have pushed harder on the bike. I don’t think that would have affected my run.
4. My first 10K on the run was too slow. I was being cautious, but I should have pushed the pace a little harder. I left a few minutes on the table there.

VO2 crew post race (I'm on the left).

The universe operates in terms of cycles – or seasons as I like to call them.

This applies to obvious things in our environment – like the changing weather throughout the year; as well as other things like relationships that come – and go – and then come back together again, businesses that thrive – wither and then come back to life, or as was the case of my White River 50 experience, emotions that go from good -  to terrible – to oh my god I’m gonna die – to great….all over the course of a few hours of racing.

The seasonal nature of things plays in out so many ways.

I’ve seen this enough in my own life that I know it’s how things work. Sometimes the seasons play out over the course of a few hours. Other times it takes many years…but they always do play out.

Yogis have understood the seasonal nature of things at a cosmic scale for thousands of years.

Acknowledge the seasons and know that when things are not going so well…they are bound to improve. Likewise, when things are going great – take the opportunity to “prepare for winter” – that is to say, remember your successes and draw on them stay strong and confident in your purpose when things become challenging. This is where journals become powerful tools, as do vision boards, affirmations or regular meditation on a positive intention.

A look at the first climb during my White River 50 mile run.

The White River 50 Miler was totally awesome. I signed up for the race many months ago, but the week prior if you asked me if I was going to run it, I would have laughed at you. I was dealing with a few injuries and still not recovered from Ironman CDA. However, a subtle but important mental shift made all the difference.

Instead of thinking about this as a race or some kind of extreme endurance event. I simply though about it as “just a fun day in the mountains.” I literally told myself this out loud. Good thing I live alone or my roommate would have thought I was psycho! Eventually, I came to truly believe what I was saying and I totally realized that doing the event was not only possible, but it could actually be sorta fun.

Our playground for the White River 50! Yes - that is Mt. Rainier.

I also managed to give my friend Sean a little prodding…and he decided to run it as well (on practically no training!). It also helped that two good friends Charles and Jenny were also signed up to run. My game plan was to just go as far as I can without risking any major damage to my body. I was fully prepared to drop out if I thought I would injure myself.

The course was 44 miles of single-track trail (the other 6 miles are on a dirt fire road) in the pristine White River wilderness near Mount Rainier (in the hills surrounding Crystal Mountain Ski Resort). The views from the course are mind-boggling good. Many times I caught myself just staring off to the right or left – with epic views of Mt. Rainer and the Cascades.

Besides being gorgeous, the course is gnarly. In terms of sheer elevation gain and general course difficulty, it rivals the Copper Canyon Ultramarathon in my opinion. What makes CCUM a little tougher is not so much the course, but the weather (it was over 100 degrees in some parts of CCUM) and the general remoteness of the race and travel involved in getting there.

White River has ~10,000 feet of climbing split into two MASSIVE CLIMBS followed by crazy long descents.

I can’t overestimate these climbs. It felt like running up Mt Si (for those of you in Seattle you will know what I mean) and then some….and then running down about the same distance…then repeating that effort! For veteran ultra trail runners this might not seem like a ton, but for me it was.

Sean’s blog has a great image comparing the White River course to the Boston Marathon with its infamous “Heartbreak Hill” that is worth checking out.

I’ll break down the race into Pre-Race, Race, Post Race and Lessons Learned.

Pre Race

• Found a last minute room for the race at the Crystal Mountain resort. It was a few miles from the start line, and right where race registration and other pre-race stuff was happening. Very convenient!
• My gear (pictured below) was pretty basic. With weather predicted in the mid-70′s to low-80′s and sunny, I was planning to wear a t-shirt (North Face Flight Series) and shorts (Nike running shorts) along with a visor and sunglasses (they sat on top of my head most of the day since the course was mostly shaded).  I wore my Inov-8 Roclite 295′s for the first 37 miles (hilly and gnarly trail) and Brooks GTS Racers for the final 13 miles (downhill and flat/smooth trail).

Gear

• Fueling Strategy (250 calories per hour). I wanted to stick to simple food and get most of my calories in via gel to prevent any stomach issues and maximize absorption. Some people want sandwiches and real food (cookies, chips, etc) during these race (and the aid stations are stocked with this stuff!) but I try to stick to simple sugars. I fueled on:

1. Hammer Gel (in flasks, run with 1 flask and the rest in drop bags). I went through 15 servings of Hammer Gel along with 3 GU packs from aid stations.
2. GU Chomps (in drop bags). I went through 6 bags of chomps.
3. Hammer Endurolytes (2 per hour – more if sunny/hot)
4. Cola (after 37 miles – provided on course). I consumed about 32 oz of cola in the last 2 hours.
5. Coconut water (in drop bag at 32 mile point). I consumed an entire 32 oz Zico container.
6. Banana pieces (at aid stations). I consumed 4-5 pieces.

• The course has a ton of aid stations, with the options for dropbags at a bunch (like 6-8 places) along the course. Still, it was recommend that runners use two handheld bottles (or the equivalent) to get them through longer stretched. I wore an Amphipod 22oz handheld and a waist-belt with two 10oz Amphipod bottles and a pouch to carry GU Chomps and Endurolyte tablets. I was very happy with this approach.

Sean made this handy cheat sheet that we each carried. I circled the aid stations where I placed drop bags. Took this photo post-race, it is soaked with sweat, coke and god knows what else.

• I used three drop bags. In each I placed 2 packs of GU Chomps, in 2 of them I had spare socks (only ended up changing socks once),  and in the last drop bag I had a different pair of shoes (a pair with more cushion for the long 6 mile descent after the second climb – around 37 miles in). I also had a liter of coconut water in a drop bag…that I snagged at around 32 miles in (halfway up the second climb).
• The race featured all kinds of cool (and random) swag….in addition to a t-shirt and socks, we got a drink “cozie,” a pen, an umbrella and a trucker hat (at the finish)! Much of the swag was provided by SCOTT sports, who sponsored the event.
• The pre-race meeting was held in a small bar right in the little lodge/hotel we were staying at. Pretty cool vibe. A lot of people seemed to have already run the course at least a few times. With around 300 entrants (240-something actually ran), this was the biggest field yet.
• Ate a massive pasta dinner at the pre-race carbo load and hit the sack early to prepare for the 6:30am start. Both Sean and I decided to forgo the “early start”..convinced that we wouldn’t need to worry about hitting the time cut-offs…we had 13 hours to finish the course officially (14 hours with an early start). I ended up regretting this decision later on during the day. More on this later!
• After hitting the porta potty and getting drop bags in their appropriate spots, I headed to the race start – a dirt road along a flat mid-forest airstrip for small aircraft (a giant grass field). I positioned myself towards the middle of the pack, along with my friends.

The Race

Somewhere on the course. Looks pretty...I don't remember it at all..must have been zone out! Photo by http://www.nwtrailruns.com/

• Miles 1-4 to Aid Station #1 @ Camp Sheppard: I trotted along with my friends, and the whole field was just running in a giant pace-line it seemed. I kept my eyes on the trail and the shoes in front of my as we meandered along pretty flat and winding trail. The pace was totally slow and comfortable – on purpose! In one spot there was a downed tree to climb up and over, but overall this trail was pretty straightforward. I almost tripped about a dozen times….and realized I needed to really pay attention to the trail and not zone out. We rolled through the first aid station around 4 miles in – I topped off a water bottle and carried on. The whole time I focused on taking in Hammer Gel and staying relaxed.
• Miles 4-12 to Aid Station #2 @ Ranger Creek: This stretch of trail begins flatish…then the first mountain climb of the course begins! Over a six-mile stretch we climb almost 3000 feet! If you aren’t sure if that is a lot or not…let me just say that it is. It’s like climbing more than the height of Mt. Si (Seattle-ites will know what I mean). I focused on nutrition and hydration, power hiking any of the uphill portions and running short stretches of flatish trail throughout the climb. I was right next to Sean for most of this portion of the run and he kept me entertained (as well as another runner) a very long joke that took like an hour to tell .

That mountain in the distance is the first climb...we started at the base at the left hand side, and run up to the top and then along the ridgeline to the right hand side of the picture.

• Miles 12-17 to Aid Station #3 @ Corral Pass: Think the first climb was done? No way! The first couple miles of this stretch continue climbing for another 400 feet, then it flattens out to a rolling section along Corral Pass. Epic views of Mt Rainier and lush valleys almost make the pain go away. There is an out and back section here where you get to see where the competition is. During this stretch I felt quite good, running most of it. I saw some more friends, including Barefoot Ted during the out-and-back portion. There was some snow on the course, but they did such a great job building snow steps and putting in some fixed lines that it wasn’t much of an issue. My Inov-8 Roclite 295′s did an amazing job keeping me firmly grounded.
• Miles 17-22 Aid Station #4 @ Ranger Creek: We continue the out-and-back portion of the trail, and then begin a long descent…6.8 miles on a single track trail! At first it was a relief to be running downhill. After a mile this thought changed as my legs were starting to totally fry. I took a few short walk breaks on the downhill to let my feet/quads recover.

Sean looking strong. He trained all of 4 days to prep for this race (no joke) and finished in under 12 hours.

• Miles 22-27 Aid Station #5 @ Buck Creek: The downhill continues and at times Sean and I wonder if we are off trail or something. There aren’t many other runners around and it seemed crazy to run downhill this long. Well, it is crazy to run downhill this long, but we were not off trail! Eventually…..we hit flat ground, thank goodness, and emerged near the race start area to take on more aid. I felt better after a few miles of flat ground, and Sean pulled ahead of me a bit so I was pretty much on my own here. Felt fine overall and started to mentally prepare for the second mountain climb to come – which is over 8 miles long!
• Miles 27-32: Aid Station #6 @ Fawn Ridge: After a few miles of flat terrain, we began to climb. I caught up with Sean and my friends Charles and Jenny also caught us. We power hiked together up the mountain. This mountain was a little shorter than the last one, but steeper! After taking aid – and refilling my water bottles with coconut water from my drop bag (it’s amazing stuff…need to do this again next time, and at my next Ironman race) I powered through and kept climbing. I felt good and decided to push a little harder, breaking away from my friends and pushing up the climb. At this point time-wise I was a little nervous of the aid station cut-offs. We were about 1 hour ahead of the aid station cutoff time at this point….this race really had a pretty aggressive required pace to avoid being pulled from the course. Maybe I should have taking the early start after all? This would have given an extra hour of cushion to finish. Oh well…nothing I can do about that right now.
• Miles 32-37 Aid Station #7 @ SunTop: Does this climb ever end? It went on and on and on and on. At one point some mountain bikers passed me and I asked how much further and they said “you’re almost there…maybe a mile at most.” Total Liars!!!!   That climb kept going for eons. I powered through, eventually emerging on Sun Top, enjoying the epic views of the mountains and downing some watermelon, filling my shirt and hat with ice and changing my shoes into a more cushioned road shoe (Brooks GT Racers). I was still over an hour ahead of the aid station cut-off. The next 6 miles would feature a long downhill on a dirt road. At this point, I really did feel relieved since I knew that I would finish the race no matter what.
• Miles 37-43 Aid Station #8 @ Skookum Flats: I knew this part of the course would be challenging for me. I’ve been battling Plantar Fasciitis since CCUM and while it wasn’t affecting me so far, this long downhill on a dirt road was scary. I started running down the hill, and after half a mile had to stop. My feet felt like they were going to explode. Over the course of the next few miles I did more walking than running, and tons of people passed me. Fitness really didn’t mean anything at this point….my feet just couldn’t handle the pounding. At points I was walking backwards to take the pressure off my feet. Sean caught up with me and we made it down to the end of this segment together, as he was also battling some IT band issues.I again started to worry about missing the cut-off time for the next aid station.
• Miles 43-50 TO THE FINISH! Once we hit the aid station at Skookum flat, Sean waved goodbye and hammered the final stretch in a successful attempt to break 12 hours. I loaded up my water bottles with Coke, and walked the first 1/2 mile along the flat and well cushioned trail. By this time my feet had recovered and stopped throbbing, so I started running. I felt better and better every mile so I picked up the pace, reeling in many runners that passed me during the long downhill. After a seemingly endless 7 miles, I emerged onto a road and gave it everything I had for the last quarter-mile into the finish.
• Final Time =12hrs 13mins 54secs (201/244 runners).

Me = DONE!

Post Race

What I love about ultras is the everyone just seems to hang around for a long time at the finish. Even with my late finish, all the athletes were still there, including the top finishers (many of whom congratulated me and the other finishers!). This kind vibe is unique to the sport. There was a great potato bar with tons of toppings and other food for refueling.

The first thing I did upon finishing was take off my shoes and sit down. My feet were so sore I could hardly walk, but the rest of me (my legs in general) felt surprisingly good! I’m looking forward to getting this plantar fascia problem solved. Even the next day, my feet were the most sore part of my body. My legs recovered surprisingly quickly – though I still feel like am a little more tired than normal during hard training sessions – and it has been a couple of weeks since the race. It will probably take a full month to feel 100% normal.

Back at the hotel, in a post race coma.

Lessons Learned

Barefoot Ted once told me that running 100 mile is like living a lifetime in a single day – with all of its ups and downs. I’ve never done a 100 miler, but I can say 50 miles of running/power hiking has that kind of feeling and definitely takes you to places you don’t go in typical daily life. All kind of emotions come up unexpectedly. I went from feeling pretty darn depressed at mile 38 to feeling re-energized and ready to rock and roll by mile 45. Things go from bad to good to worse to amazing – sometimes in the course of 10 miles! Knowing that things will get better when you feel like crap is powerful knowledge and can power you through some really tough times. This great quote I blogged a few weeks ago came to mind several times during the run:

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn -Harriet Beecher Stowe

I witnessed the power of staying present to what was around me, and not getting caught in any kind of negative self-talk. Staying positive is absolutely critical. At one point in the race (around mile 32), I was hiking with a man who had done the race several times and was a veteran ultra-runner. He was talking constantly, and often just complaining about stuff and generally not being positive. After 10 minutes I had enough, and pushed ahead fast to get away from him and his negativity! Staying upbeat when positive is that important when you are pushing that hard.

In terms of nutrition and fueling, when all else fails – really nailing nutrition is so important and can help you finish a race that you have no business finishing . I made a nutrition plan, stuck to it – and had no issues with digestion or hydration. I also learned that coconut water is like liquid gold during a hot race and coke is jet fuel and worth drinking plentifully during the final couple hours of a long event.

My last lesson is that conventional wisdom – the kind that says you need to run a lot and be super healthy to run an ultra – is totally wrong. I came into the race with a bum knee and feet, but did what I could to get healthy before the race and approached it with the attitude of just enjoying the day in the mountains and seeing what would happen. Things ended up working out for the best – but I was fully prepared to drop out if my health was at risk.

I think a lot of people can complete these kind of events – and they should not let someone else tell them they haven’t trained enough or aren’t ready for it. If you really want it bad enough you can do it. I am totally convinced that any reasonably fit human being can complete a 50 miler with a marginal amount of training. Just go into the challenge with a positive mindset.

Breakfast stop at "Waipiti Woolies" coffee shop and store on the way back from White River the day after the race..

I’ve been wanting to get a juicer for a while. My Vita-Mix is awesome but I like drinking thinner juices and not just thick smoothies every now and then. Juicing is also a great way to power through a large quantity of vegetables in short order.

I also watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. I’ve seen it listed on Netflix for a while, but thought it would just be another boring story about why eating fruits and veggies are important. Today, I decided to watch it while laying in a catatonic state on my couch (after an epic morning of swim/bike/run training!).

Boy was I wrong. This documentary is really good. So good it motivated me to go out and buy a juicer. Calling around to a few local stores, they were all out of the model I wanted (the one featured in the documentary) – a Breville Juicer. I called Sur La Table and they mentioned that they only had 1 left, and that the entire chain was seeing a huge demand for them. They had new clue why…so I told them.

Anyway, I made my first juice today and it tastes awesome! So good, I’m going to make another right now

Ingredients (all organic)

• 3 Dino Kale leaves
• 1 Granny Smith apple
• 1 small piece ginger
• 1/2 small lemon
• 1/2 large cucumber
• 3 large celery stalks

This made a tall 16 ounce glass of amazing juice!

Life is a marathon and not a sprint.

Even more correctly stated, life is an ultra-marathon and not a sprint.

Ultra-marathons are often held on rugged terrain in all kinds of weather and conditions. It’s rare when you run an ultra non-stop from start to finish. Pacing is critical. You learn to take advantage of flats and downhills to run, and conserve energy on climbs by walking often. Fueling is also critical: with hydration, electrolytes and steady flow of calories.

You go through all kinds of highs and lows in these races…people talk about the proverbial “second wind”. In an ultra you will come across a second, third and maybe even fourth or fifth “wind”! Staying positive (through self-talk and encouraging others on the course) is key.

Life mirrors this.

Proper rest and nutrition are critical to performing well at work and in my ability to be aware during the day (nothing like low blood sugar to get me day-dreaming!).When I eat a lot of garbage I don’t perform well at work and my relationships suffer.

I push through the lows – challenging projects, conversations, etc. – knowing that things will get better if I just stay focused and keep making progress. It really does help to stay positive even when things don’t go well in the short-term…..knowing that the long-term successful outcomes are often preceded by bouts of short-term struggle.

Coming into the finish of The North Face 50K Ultramarathon in December 2010 (San Fran, CA).

If you are not a tri-geek like me…you might not want to bother reading any more of this post

Here is my detailed race plan for Ironman CDA. It helps to write things down, even if in these types of races NOTHING seems to go as planned! The act of writing at least gives the illusion of control and some peace of mind. It also gives me a chance to make sure my fueling and pacing strategies are right.

Leaving tomorrow for Idaho.

*****

IMCDA Race Plan. Ravi Raman. 6/26/2011

Overall goal  = FINISH! Anticipated pacing as follows:

·       Swim: 1:10 relaxed and easy, focus on drafting and conserving energy

·       T1: 4 mins

·       Bike: 7hrs with focus on nutrition and keeping knee under control

·       T2: 4 mins

·       Run: 4:30 with focus on a stronger second half of the marathon

·       Estimate time: 12:50

·       The time goals provided are simply for pacing purposes. Until I hit half-way in the marathon I will not be pushing even if I feel great. My singular goal is to finish this race and enjoy the experience.

Friday:

·       5am: Wake up, Yoga in my trailer (yes, I’m staying in a trailer down by the lake!).

·       9am: PT and foam roller, stretching

·       Before Noon: Treatment at ART booth

·       Noon: Lunch – sandwich and fruit

·       Afternoon: Athlete Check-in

·       7pm: Dinner at Macaroni grill (pasta and plain salad)

·       10pm: Bed

Saturday

·       5am: Cliff bar

·       7am: Mini race rehearsal of swim 15min followed by 20min bike and 15min run. A accelerations during each.

·       Recovery drink

·       9am: PT and foam roller, stretching

·       Before Noon: Treatment at ART booth, KT Tape application

·       Noon: Lunch – sandwich and fruit

·       Afternoon: Bike and gear check-in

·       6pm: Dinner at Macaroni grill (pasta – low fiber)

·       9pm: Bed

Sunday: RACE DAY!

·       4am: 1 Cliff Bar + 1 Banana + Coffee (350 cal)  + 24 oz water w/ Nuun

·       7am: Race!

·       Before Midnight: Finish!

Gear T1 Bag (Transition Area)

·       KT Tape

·       2 GU

·       GU Flask

·       Water bottle

Gear T2 Bag (Transition Area)

·       KT Tape

·       2 GU  w/ Caffeine

·       Water bottle

Gear Bike Special Needs

·       Hammer Gel Flask

·       10 Endurolytes

Gear Run Special needs

·       Hammer Gel Flask

·       10 Endurolytes

Morning Nutrition Before the Race

·       Early Pre-Race: 1 Cliff Bar + 1 Banana + Coffee (350 cal)  + 24 oz water w/ Nuun

·       Just Before Swim: 1 GU + Bottle Nuun  (100 cal)

Pre-Race Warm Up and Swim

·       Light yoga/stretching

·       200 yards easy warm up

·       Swim goal is to finish in 1:10 and feel well rested for the bike/run

T1 approach

·       Grab T bag

·       Put on socks, shoes, glasses, helmet

·       Put gel flask in pocket (only drink and eat after 15 minutes of riding)

·       T1 time <4 minutes

Bike strategy

·       Goal is to finish in 7 hours and keep under control

·       Watts Avg 122-30 (FTP 175 @70-5%)

·       Nutrition of 300 cal/hr (Hammer Gel + Gu Chomps) + Nuun

·       2 gel + 1/2 chomps pack per hour + 2 endurolytes tab

T2 approach

·       Grab T bag

·       Rack bike and take off helmet

·       Put on visor and shoes  and bodyglide

·       Grab Hammer Gel flask + water bottle

·       T2 time <4 minutes

Run strategy

·       Goal is to finish in under 4.5 hours and have an awesome time

·       Strategy to walk every aid station no matter what (until halfway point)

·       Run at 10 min/miles through halfway including walking aid stations (~ 30 seconds/mile)

·       Run at 9 min/miles for last half if feeling great

·       Run: 250 cal/hr (Hammer Gel, cola  & sports drink)

·       First 5 miles: 2 gel + 1 cola/sports drink per hour

·       After 5 miles: switch to all cola + sports drink