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In my continuing effort to bring you the most up-to-date and interesting triathlon stories, I’ve enlisted the help of someone whom actually knows what they are writing about. It is with great to-do that today I’m introducing a new feature on Everyman Triathlon: Coaches Corner.
I’ve asked some of the best and most well know athletes and coaches in Triathlon to write a few pearls of wisdom that, unlike my writing, may actually help you in your training and racing.
I’ve always wanted to write a book called “How to Lose Weight Fast.” The book would only have three chapters:
1) Eat Less
2) Exercise More
3) Maintain
Because it really is that simple…or is it? Of course it’s not! Weight loss is one of the hardest things to do in today’s modern society. We are constantly bombarded with enticing food advertising not to mentions hundreds of quick, easy and cheap eating opportunities.
My mother, like so many others, has spent her entire life fighting the good fight, and for the most part losing the war. I wish I had stock in Jenny Graig for when she’s on the program the company’s profits must sore.
So why is it that so many of us fight the battle of the bulge and lose every time? Logically we all know what must be done (eat less and exercise more) and yet we try the newest diets, eat the newest low-cal foods and go to all kinds of extremes to shed the increasing pounds.
I really need to add a few chapters to my book. Two to be exact:
4) Be honest
5) Stay motivated
I find that when I’m trying to lose weight I turn into one massive liar and I develop an ability to rationalize that would make Kirstie Alley proud. What’s worse the harder I try to lose weight, the more I lie to myself. I come up with all sorts of rationalizations for my poor eating habits like, “I just ran for half hour so I can eat this peanut butter cup and Oh what the heck, the other one as well. And I might as well wash it all down with a Coke since I just burned all those calories running.”
But it gets worse. When I’m really working hard to lose weight I’ll rationalize my poor diet with the expectation of a heavy workout. For instance I’ll do things like, “It’s OK to have this burger and fries and a chocolate shake for lunch since I’ll be going for an extra long swim tonight.” The problem is that by “tonight” I get tired and that extra long swim turns into an extra long nap.
To help me stay honest I’ve put together a little cheat sheet that translates caloric intake into the actual amount of time needed to burn those calories. It’s kinda like Deal-a-Meal
(the weight loss card program that lets you choose foods by mixing and matching cards) except that it lets you eat empty calories based on how much work it will take to actually burn them off.
For instance, the above mentioned lunch at my favorite burger joint is about 1700 calories:
Burger: 600
Fries: 400
Shake 700
Total lunch 1700 Calories
Now this may seem like a lot but my favorite local hamburger place is Red Robin and their burgers and shakes are big and their fries are bottomless. Remember we’re being totally honest.
So how much exercise do I need to do to burn off my lunch?
2.0 hours of swimming (at 1:15 per 100 yards) that’s way fast for me so figure
2.5 hours for me.
2:00 hours of biking (at 20 mph) and that’s way fast for me so figure about
2:30 hours of biking for me.
1:15 hours of running (at an 8:00 minutes per mile pace) way fast so figure
1:30 of running for me.
You can use the following as an easy rule of thumb You’ll burn:
700 calories an hour of constant swimming
700 calories an hour of intermediate biking (figure 19-15 mph)
1100 calories an hour of easy running (9-10 mph)
That means that if you have a 12 ounce can of coke (140 calories) plus a Chocolate Hershey bar (130 calories) as a snack you better figure on spending a half an hour on the bike or in the pool just to burn off that 5 minute snack.
When I look at it this way, I begin to wonder if that snack is really worth all the effort. And the problem, of course, is that I’m assuming that I’ll actually do the work. If I get lazy I’m in trouble. Watching Television burns about 100 calories an hour.
Take a look at this chart from lowfatlifestyle.com. It helps keep me honost.
That means that if I go to Red Robin for lunch tomorrow I’ll have to watch 17 hours of television to just stay at no weight gain. Or I could always type on this computer for 10 hours (typing on a computer burns about 170 calories an hour) to get that much need work out.
Next time: Chapter 5 Stay Motivated
It only seems correct that at this holiday time of the year I take stock and give thanks (of course from a triathlete’s point of view).
I’m thankful for Chlorine
Now that I spend countless hours at the local pool, swimming back and forth like some caged and deranged zoo animal, I give thanks to modern chemistry. For without it the local youngsters would quickly turn my beloved pool into what the ancient Greeks called the Urinarium.
I’m thankful for Lycra
This wonderful modern stretchy fabric allows all triathletes (men and women) to wear comfortable yet snug and tight fitting clothes over raced tuned bodies.
I’m thankful for Sunglasses
Not only do they shade my eyes from the sun but they allow all triathletes to anonymously observe the wonders of tight fitting Lycra over race tuned bodies.
I’m thankful for Carbon Fiber
My old biking buddy in high school used to like to say that bike racing is not about the chassis but about the engine…as he kicked my butt on the way back home. Well Mark, thanks to the wonders of carbon fiber it’s now all about the chassis. After all, it is so much easier for my bike to shed a few pounds than for me to loose weight
I’m thankful for Pull Buoys
Or as I like to call them during an especially rigors masters workout in the pool: the poor man’s wet suit. They provide all the buoyancy at just a fraction of the cost.
I’m thankful for Big Girls on Mountain Bikes
They keep me honest and grounded and in touch with what’s real and what’s not. Just when I think that I’m the next Lance, one of these gals will fly by me like I’m standing still and give me big helping of reality.
I’m thankful for Fast Food
There’s nothing better than a 1500 plus calorie super-sized meal after an especial hard and long workout. Training for an Ironman not only makes you fit but also it makes for pure guilt free fast food dinning enjoyment.
I’m thankful for GU.
Not only is it a great quick and fast energy food boost supplement, but it also provides that added hand stickiness that makes for superior bike handling through better handlebar grip.
I’m thankful for OLN
The Out Door Life Network now broadcast most Ironman races as well as many of the ITU races. Much of the time the production values of these broadcast are so poor that their goofy race coverage will certainly keep our sport a small and well hidden treasure.
I’m thankful for the Finish Line
I don’t really need to explain this one, do I?
I’m thankful for Body Glide
I don’t really need to explain this one, do I?
I’m thankful for Beer
I don’t really need to explain this one, do I?
I’m thankful for Aero Bars
Aero Bars have become the surest and quickest way to identify fellow triathletes on a training ride.
I’m thankful for traditional Water Bottle Holders
The new water bottle holders, located behind the seat that are now all the rage, have almost cost me my life twice. Why…because they also double as missile launchers when the guy in front hits a bump.
I’m thankful for the Swim
It keeps the run weasels honest.
I’m thankful for the Run
It keeps the swim weasels honest.
I’m thankful for the Bike
It’s a great way to dry off before the run.
Finally I’m thankful for the sport of Triathlon
It’s a great way to be alive.
If you are thankful for the sport of triathlon like me, and want to spread some of the joy at this holiday time of the year, I would recommend the Active Awareness Fund.
The Active Awareness Fund is a non-profit that allows you to race and at the same time raise money for your favorite charity. It is a great organization that’s building a community of like minded triathletes. Please visit their web site to get an early start on spreading the joy.
If you are like me you probably find it difficult to stay motivated during the long and cold winter months. The racing season has wrapped up and now what? With the Holidays just around the corner, now is the time to get together with family and eat, get together with friends and eat, cook and eat, drink and eat and eat and eat and eat and drink.
You’ve worked so hard this year to loose weight, get in shape and today you feel like a well-tuned triathlon machine, all be it a burned out well-tuned triathlon machine. But what will you feel like come January after all a month of eating and drinking? Perhaps you make it through the next month but you still have a long winter to get through before the racing fun starts.
No need to worry. I’ve got the perfect the answer for those long and cold winter months. And yes I know that you folks lucky enough to live in the warmer parts of this country don’t have a our cold climate issues, but buckle up and keep reading because this is for you as well.
Last winter I began to put on a series of indoor triathlons at my health club. We called the series the Everyman Indoor Triathlon because the race is specifically designed to be as easy of difficult as you want to make it. The Everyman Indoor Tri is race for both novice and Ironman alike. It can be an easy work out or you can go for it and feel the pain of the real thing.
The Everyman Indoor Tri is also completely indoors and you don’t need any special equipment for it except for a pair of running shoes and swim goggles. It uses equipment that is readily available at most health club and recreation centers around the country. Here’s what you need:
a) Swimming pool
b) Computerized Stationery bike
c) Treadmill
d) A few free hours on Sunday afternoon
Here’s how it works. Each part of the race is only 15 minutes. This means that you have a 15 swim, followed by a 5 transition, followed by a 15 bike, followed by a 5 minute transition, followed by a 15 minute run. Total time of the Everyman Indoor Tri is 55 minutes or about an hour.
One of the secrets of success to the entire race is that competitors can go as easy or as fast as they like. In other words, the race is not based on total time, but on total distance gone for each of the three segments.
This means that for the swim we count laps, for the bike we see how far the racers has gone (in miles) and on the tread mill we track the total distance (in miles). Individual racers can either really push the pace’ or take it easy and use the race as just a great brick workout. (a brick work out is when you combine two or more parts of the triathlon into one workout)
The trick to putting on this race is that you need to be able to do the race in waves. We like to use 3 waves of 5 people because we have 5 free lanes in our pool and 5 stationary bikes and treadmills.
We start all five waves of racers at the same time. This means that five triathletes start in the pool, while five start on the bike, and five start on the treadmill. After 15 minutes they have 5 minutes transition time to rotate (in the correct race order) to the next part of the race.
This also means that the swim may not always be the first event, it can in fact be last. But since we are in a pool there is no danger of drowning. In fact last year we had some racers, who had never swam for 15 minutes at one time, walk the the swim…which is fine since the Everyman Indoor Triathlon is all about having fun.
And since the race is completely indoors, it is a fantastic event for friends and/or the entire family. Racers are always within cheering or jeering range. We encourage the entire family to come and watch or take part in the race. For me, it really is great fun to see my son cheer me on as I’m pushing the pace on the treadmill. This race is after all about having fun.
Let’s talk about how each of the three events works:
1) The swim: This is the easy part. All you need is a pool with a few open lanes. Competitors can even share lanes. You’ll need somebody to time the 15 minutes and write down the lap totals. (We count to the nearest half lap) We also have lap counters and but you can have the racers count their own laps….if you can trust them ;-)
2) The bike: For this you’ll need the computerized bikes that have a speed, distance and difficulty/tension settings. The most poplar bikes that I see everywhere are the Lifecycles with the small red lights that make up that little digital graph that you can watch as you are biking. All the racers start peddling at the same time (the bike starts exactly five minutes after the swim) and they go for 15 minutes. We record how far they’ve gone in that fifteen minutes. Most of the computerized bikes will have a difficulty setting. The harder the racers makes the resistance the farther they go with each peddle stroke. The resistance is completely up to them.
3) The run: We use 5 treadmills that are lined up next to each other. The 5 racers start at the same time (exactly five minutes after the bike) They set the treadmill speed to whatever they want (they can also increase or decrease the speed) and we record how far they’ve run. Some walk, jog or run, this is completely up to them.
4) Scoring: We score the race based on a simple point system. The triathlete that goes the furthest in each segment gets a maximum of 3 points for that segment. The next triathlete gets 2.5 points and so on. The exact points are based on a spreadsheet that assigns a percentage of the maximum of 3 points based on the total number of racers. The racer with the highest total point total wins. We like to keep it simple, so we have only the top three men and the top three women awards, but you could break it down into sub categories like age, sex and amount of beer drunk the night before.
5) Rules, Regs and Penalties: There are non. The only real rule is that racers have five minutes for each transition. If they are late getting changed (our folks change in the locker room). You miss the start of the next segment and thus you have less time for that part of the race. Typically a lot of newbies are a bit slow getting from the pool to the bike. This just means that instead of 15 minutes they get a few less on the bike.
6) Body Marking: You bet like the real thing.
Well that’s it; The Everyman Indoor Triathlon can be your winter racing fun. I started the race at my health club with a little help from some friends and management. The club management loves the event as it keeps the members in the club and active during the slow weekend times. We put on the race last Sunday afternoon of each month during the winter.
It’s a great event for newbies and pro’s alike. More importantly it is completely friend and family friendly.
If you’d like more info on how to put on this race in your neck of the woods just send me an email ([email protected]) and I’ll be happy to get you started on a winter of indoor racing fun. That way you can eat, drink, and eat some more this holiday season.
There is no doubt that we are living through the Golden Era of Triathlon.
We are at the precise moment in history when the sport is verged on the cusp of greatness. The moment that it goes from being a passionate pursuit of a few to the wider mainstream of general society.
Live the day!
Because like so many sports before it, once the sport hits the big time it will become commercialized, popularized, materialized, and sanitized. It is already happening. Have you been to a Ironman race recently? The Expo now looks like a Ford Dealership. While you are checking out the latest in bike, run and swim equipment, why not purchase your next explorer?
Enjoy the day!
On most Thursday nights during the summer you’ll probably find me standing in the cold and gray waters of Boulder Res. I’m waiting for the start of the weekly Stroke and Stride (a short race that’s made up of a 1500 meter swim and a 5 K run).
Standing next to me on my right is Simon Lessing. On my left is Cameran Widoff and just in front of us is Bella Comerford. That’s a pretty interesting foursome. Three out of those four triathletes have won an Ironman race…one has not. Three out of those four triathletes are considered the best in the world…one is not. Three out of four of these triathletes will be trying to win Kona….one will not. I’m sure you can guess which one will not.
Image being in a golf tournament and teeing off in a foursome with Tiger Woods, VJ Singh, and Annika Sorenstam. You know that’s never going to happen.
Embrace the day!
I’ve been visiting my new triathlete friends recently. And by visiting I mean checking out their blogs and I’m amazed at the amount of time, energy and passion they put into triathlon. I salute you all! I can tell that triathlon is much more than just a weekend hobby or casual pastime for you. It has become your passion and driving motivator in your life.
I think that it used to be this way with many of the other now “major sports” when the Everyman athlete could compete and put himself among the pros. But today the distance between the pros and the fans of the major sports has grown to an enormous size. A night at the ballpark can cost not tens, but hundreds of dollars. And the closest you’ll likely get to a top ballplayer, is if he happens to hit a foul ball your way. In football they even put a screen up to keep the balls away from the fans.
Is it no wonder that so many people play fantasy football and baseball? The real sport has become just a far away television show for so many fans.
Be the day!
All sports have defining moments and elements that distill the essence of the sport to a moment, sight, or sound. For me, in baseball, it is the crack of the bat as the baseball leaves the ballpark. In football, it is the snap of the ball and the roar of the crowd as it is passed to the quarterback. In basketball, it is the squeak of the shoes on the court and swoosh of the ball as it passes through the net.
But how many of us have actually experienced any of these moments? Sure you can go to the local gym or ballpark and play a game with your friends. But can you play it in a packed stadium, next to the best in the world, with a world championship at stake? You know that’s never going to happen.
Celebrate the day!
My defining moments in a triathlon are broken down into the three sports. I love the feeling of the swim, when my head is in the water, when everything is quiet, except for the sound of my labored breath to the back beat of my pounding heart.
On the bike, I always remember the salty taste of my sweat as it drips down my face, into my mouth and down onto the spinning wheel front wheel of the bike.
On the run, I’ve come to expect the moment when my thighs seize up as I push them from biking to running. However I treasure the feeling when my legs finally get used to the new motion and I settle to a good pace and beginning to really run.
And while I’ll never cross the finish line at the same time as Simon Lessing, Cameran Widoff or Bella Comerford. I’ll be there next to them at the start. I’ll race the same course, with the same fans, put in the same painful miles, with the same weather, use the equipment, and suffer the same, pain and joy…on the same day.
Carpe Diem!
For the day will pass all too soon.
Until they air the Ironman live from Hawaii on TV the race will always seem like either:
a) A made for TV tear-jerker movie,
b) A music sports video,
c) A race fought between about 6 athletes,
d) A race that’s either all about the best biker, or all about the best runner, but never about the best swimmer,
e) A curious side show event that only the truly crazy, or ultimately hardcore types decide to contest,
f) A race that seems much shorter and perhaps easier than it really is.
I don’t know about you, but when I watch the coverage of the Ironman Hawaii I really enjoy seeing the finish line late at night. When the dads, moms, grandmas, grandpas, the thin, the fat , the abled and the disabled cross that sacred threshold and go from Everyman to Ironman. To me that is the essence of the race itself. It is the Everyman accomplishing something that is so amazing and difficult that it sends shivers down my spine and tears down my cheeks.
But all too often when I watched the race coverage on television, there is a need on the part of the producers to create drama. To feature the most painful, sad athlete story possible. Which is fine.
What I don’t like is when that story is put to music, played in slow motion, and made more dramatic with Hollywood style camera tricks and deceptive editing. To me that takes a personal challenge and makes it commercial—like promoting a product to generate revenue. It takes something that is real, painful,
and truly sad or courages, thrilling, and heroic and changes it into something that becomes entertainment. And in that process the soul of the story gets sold to the highest bidder.
I believe that if the race were televised live, the race would create its own drama-- and an incentive to tell the real story as it unfolds during the day.
I used to live in Europe; and I would spend way too much time watching Eurosport. So it came as a huge slap in the face when I returned home and watched the American coverage of the Olympic games.
In Europe they tend to have commentators that come from the sport, follow the sport, and focus on the event. (think Tour De France coverage). They focus on the day’s performance, and not as much on the individual trials and tribulations of the athlete.
In America we seem to have a need to focus completely on the individual athlete. You know what I mean; “Sally will be attempting the daunting triple axle but it must be very difficult for her to concentrate as her toy puddle Fluffy has just had a horrid mating induced accident that has left her shaking at the sight of all Saint Bernards.”
I know it seems like a crazy notion… but wouldn’t it be great if we could just enjoy the race for what it is, instead of for what it some producer thinks it is?
I found myself completely captivated by the coverage of the actual sport in Europe. There was plenty of drama and excitement to be had just by watching the athletes compete and perform to their abilities. Sometimes records were broken, and sometimes hearts were broken. That’s just the nature of competitive sports.
I’ll never forget the courageous performance of an Israeli figure skater who, during the winter Olympics games in Lillehammer, crashed on every jump-- piling onto the ice like a rag doll and slamming into the side boards of the rink. And yet after every fall he got up, dusted the ice from his pants, and kept skating.
Was he having a bad day? You bet. Did his father die of some horrendous disease or fiery car crash just days before the Olympics? I didn’t know and it really didn’t matter. What mattered was that he picked himself up and kept skating. All of us watching him that day gave him a standing ovation.
In the end, by manufacturing drama we risk loosing the actual meaning and the actual drama of the race. Because what I may find to be inspirational and dramatic, you may find to be completely boring and trite.
I began this story saying that I find the late night finishers the most inspiring and dramatic. But you may enjoy the drama of the pro race. I only wish the producers of the race would allow us to decide this for ourselves instead of picking, embellishing and/or producing the drama.
Trust me ladies and gentlemen producers, there is enough real thrill of victory and agony of defeat to go around during the seventeen hours of the Ironman. Just show us the race and leave Fluffy at home, where she belongs.
Have you ever spoken with a friend or acquaintance that has no knowledge of triathlon? I have and I’m always amazed that they just assume that the swim is last. It does seem logical that after all the biking, running and sweating that swimming would be a great way to end the race.
The funny thing is that the history of triathlon proves that your friends are correct to put the swim last. This is from the USA Triathlon web site:
“1904 - An event in the Olympic Games was called triathlon, consisting of the long jump, shot put and 100-yard dash.
September 4, 1921 – The Petit Perillon swim club in Marseilles, France, held an event called Course Des Trois Sports: The Race of Three Sports. The race consisted of a bicycle leg of about 7K, a run of 5K, and finished with a 200 m out-and-back swim, and was won by Lulu Helmet.
1972 - David Pain, celebrating his 50th birthday, held a run-bike biathlon in San Diego, Calif., the first known multi-sport event in the United States.
September 1974 – While advertising its new race, the San Diego Track Club Newsletter headline read, “Run, Cycle, Swim – Triathlon set for 25th,” using the word “triathlon” for the first time in the modern sense.
January 1977 – John Collins challenged those gathered at the Oahu Perimeter Relay Run awards ceremony to compete in the first Iron Man Triathlon, a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run.
February 18, 1978 – Fifteen men started and 12 men finished the first Iron Man Triathlon, won by Gordon Haller in 11 hours 46 minutes 58 seconds.”
You’ll notice that it wasn’t until the first Ironman in 1977 that swim was first. I suspect the reason for this is that in such a long race there would be a much higher rate of drowning if you put the swim last. Even in a wet suit it would be hard to walk the swim.
There are some other interesting facts about the history of triathlon that jump out at me. Can you guess what they are?
#1) The modern sport of triathlon really began at the Iron Distance. You would think that it would the Olympic distance that started it all but it was the Iron Distance that really caught on first. So why is there no Iron Distance race in the Olympics and why is the International Long Course distance (4 kilometer swim, 120 kilometer bike and 30 kilometer run) different from the iron Distance?
Why are these so many different race distances? There are at least 6:
1) Sprint
2) Olympic
3) Half Iron
4) Internation Long Course
5) Iron Distance (The Ironman)
6) Ultra Distance (The Ironman times 2)
Most other Olympic sports have one or two distances that are considered the standard.
In running it would be the 100 yard/meter dash and the marathon.
In swimming it would be the 50 yard/meter freestyle sprint and perhaps the 200 IM.
In biking it is the Tour De France and don’t ask me why. I suspect the French are somehow to blame. They did put on the first triathlon after all.
But in triathlon we have at least a half a dozen different distances that are considered to be a sprint. It’s all very confusing to us who and follow the sport let along the average Joe.
#2) The next interesting fact that the history of triathlon shows is that it was an all boys sport and I bet I know why. Most women are usually too busy and responsible to be sitting around Hawaii discussing which athletes are the most fit. “Is it a swimmer, a biker or a runner? Hard to say gentlemen, so let’s find out by putting on a race that combines all three sports and let’s make it...shall we say...a tad over 140 miles long.”
There are several true and funny stories from the beginning years of the Ironman. The first few years some of the racers would stop at a local restaurant, sit down, and order a nice meal during the race. Indeed one guy showed up with his bike loaded with food and camping equipment as he assumed it was a multi day event.
#3) The most interesting fact is that triathlon is still a very young sport. For me that’s what makes it so great. The Pros don’t yet make crazy amounts of money. It has not been commercialized, popularized, materialized, and sanitized. It is still a citizen’s sport where you can hit the water next to some of the best in the world.
But most importantly, there’s a small and rabid group of athletes who race and follow the sport while the rest of the world wonders why we do such crazy things as swim, bike and run in one race. Shhhh, let’s keep in our little secret. There’s no need to explain too much….and yes ;-) the swim is last and that’s why all your friends should consider the much safer sport of golf.
From Triathlon to Modern Pentathlon to Curling
Olympic Gold medalist swimmer-turned-world champion triathlete Sheila Taormina recently announced that she will be leaving the world of triathlon to try her hand at making the 2008 Olympics is a third sport, that of Modern Pentathlon.
Which begs the questions:
1) What the heck is Modern Pentathlon?
2) Why is it an Olympic Sport?
3) What was the Ancient Pentathlon and?
4) Why is Sheila Taormina switching sports?
To answer these questions I turned to Google and got an easy answers to the first question: “Modern pentathlon combines shooting, fencing (one duel against every other competitor), riding, swimming (200-meter freestyle) and running (3,000 meters) — all in one day”
I suppose Ancient Pentathlon must have combined the “sports” of cannon shooting, jousting, chariot racing, lion fighting and elephant head stomping---all in one day. Now that’s a sport, if televised by Fox, might actual surpass stock car racing as America’s fastest growing past time. Cable channels would kill to have it on. Every channel from Animal Planet to OLN to the ESPN to the History Channel would love to broadcast the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat of the Ancient Pentathlon.
And unlike current OLN triathlon television coverage, you really wouldn’t need to spice up the sport with all those human interest stories. Let's face it there’s nothing more thrilling than seeing an exciting chariot race followed by the potential of a rousing elephant head stomping.
Now the second question (Why is it an Olympic Sport?) took a bit more digging but I found the answer on the Olympics web site. The sport has an interesting and noble history. According to the official Olympic web site:
“A young French cavalry officer of the 19th century was sent on horseback to deliver a message. He rode across the uneven terrain, through enemy lines, and was confronted by a soldier with his sword drawn. Challenged to a duel, the officer won, only to have his horse shot out from under him by another enemy soldier.
After felling that soldier with a single shot, the officer ran on. He swam across a raging river, and then finally he delivered the message. So, legend has it, was born the modern pentathlon.
The brainchild of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, the event was based upon the unlucky officer and introduced into the Stockholm Games of 1912. Only remotely resembling the ancient pentathlon inspired by the warmongering Spartans, modern pentathletes shoot, fence, swim, compete in show jumping and run - five events testing endurance as well as athletic versatility.”
So the truth comes out. The reason Modern Pentathlon is still an Olympic sport is because the French founder of the Olympics fancied the sport. Talk about a sport with connections in high places.
Image the story behind the Ancient Pentathlon. A young Spartan foot solider was sent on horseback to deliver a message when he encountered the black knight who challenged him to a joust. After skewing the knight like a toasted lamb shish kabob, he tethered his horse to a chariot. But this was his unlucky day. A lion jumped out of the forest and chased after him for just over 26.2 miles at which point he shot the lion with a cannon, only to be captured, buried up to his neck, and almost have his head stomped by a wild elephant stampede.
I bet you can guess at the answer to the fourth question: Why is Sheila Taormina switching to the modern Pentathlon? Because she can, and because she most likely believes that she can leverage her running and swimming skills to have a chance at a medal in this “Modern” sport.
I’m sure that it does not hurt her chances that the world of the modern pentathlon athlete is miniscule, at least in comparison to some of the other more popular Olympic sports. How many people do you really suppose participate in and follow the sport of modern pentathlon? Fifty or sixty? And most of them probably attend West Point or the French equivalent.
Being on the wrong side of 40 I have to respect Sheila’s spirit for trying, and I wish her all the best of luck. For her and all of us older athletes I would kindly suggest another Olympic sport that we can still tackle. In fact we are just approaching the ideal age for this sport and many of us, including Sheila, can not only excel but even medal in this very ancient sport . I am of course referring to the ancient sport of Curling. Once again from the Olympic web site:
“Curling originated in the 16th century in Scotland, where games were played during winter on frozen ponds, lochs and marshes. In the early days of the sport, stones were taken from river bottoms. In the 1600s, stones with handles were introduced, allowing a delivery style similar to what is used today.
The key developments in the sport in the 20th century have been the standardisation of the stone and the use of indoor, refrigerated ice facilities.”
So Sheila just remember if the Modern Pentathlon thing does not go your way, the Winter games are just two years away. I’m sure that you, like most of us, have a broom in the closet and we could find a big stone or two.
With a bit of practice and a little luck you could end up competing in 4 Olympic sports. I know that when I’m finishished with all this triathlon biz, I’ll seriously think about moving to Canada. I’m sure that I would be one of the most fit Curlers North of Detroit...and that’s got to be worth something.
EveryMan Rating
2.5 Brewskis
Rating Scale (based on the amount of beer needed after race)
- 4 Brewskis: So excruciatingly painful and lame you’ll need a full year of recovery just to forget this race
- 3 Brewskis: The best thing said and remembered about race is; I finished
- 2 Brewskis: Challenging race in a masochistic I’d could do it again sort-of-way given enough time and Ibuprofen.
- 1 Brewski: Good solid race that exceeds your expectations
- No Brewski: A must-do annual event for both friends and family
Surviving my first Hurricane and Iron distance race (part 2)
“I can’t sit-up and ride” she said “because my handlebar tape has come undone and I can’t ride in the aero-position because my crotch is on fire,” she added and poured some water down her pants.
We were parked some 90 miles into the bike ride at the last water stop before the Buck Hills (three large rolling hills that challenged both body and spirit just before the very steep Sugerloaf ascent.) Clermont must be the only God forsaken place in Florida with Colorado sized foothills, I thought as my thighs seized-up like vise grips. And the Great Floridian must be one of the only Iron distance triathlons that puts the biggest hills last.
Eight flats had sent me from the tip of the spear to the butt of the spear. We were a rather motley bunch consisting of big girls on bikes, the long-ago retired and yet still very driven, the old school types with shin length red-stripped socks, the unlucky, the unprepared, the unwise, and two guys on vintage bikes with strap-on-pedals instead of clips. These boys were drafting each other like Lance and Hincapie, however at the butt of the spear no one monitors or cares.
We all had that deer caught in the headlights look as we sat in the shade at one of the last the water stops and contemplated the up-coming hills and bike cut-off time. Except that there was no water. The race organizers somehow had assumed that since it was 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity we would be drinking our own sweat. All they had left for us was warm lime Gatorade. Have you tried to chase a warm Gu with straight warm Gatorade about 9 hours into a very hot race? It is sort of like gulping green battery acid.
We did have one last advantage. The heat, humidity, lack of water, and common goal had forged a deep bond between us. It was this bond that had saved my sore ass. Long ago I had run out of both inter tubes and air. It was through the kindness of this motley band of racers that I was able to even contemplate finishing the bike.
Except that I didn’t care anymore. I had fixed my last flat and I knew it. You see in my current dazed state of mind I had forgotten to repack my tools. I had left them in field number eight somewhere about 20 miles back and that was that. I was sick of fixing flats, and I was sick of the bike. I just wanted to be done with this ride from hell.
It’s funny how fast you go from training all year, to wanting to really compete, to just wanting to finish. Now a new thought crept into to my mind. I had to finish because of the eight flats. I had worked too hard and survived too much to not finish. It was this thought that propelled me up the Buck Hills and up Sugerloaf. It was this idea that got me back to the transition area, this thought and a hell of a lot of luck.
May the air stay in your tires, and may the wind be at your back and not in your butt, I knew had be my new race motto.
I finished the bike in just under 9 hours and squeezed in under the bike cut-off time.
Don’t ever run a marathon before your first Iron distance triathlon. Why? Because if you do, you’ll know exactly how far and how difficult the 26.2 miles will be on you. It is indeed a very strange and daunting feeling starting a marathon at 6:00p.m. at night after a 112 mile bike ride. The mind says you must be crazy and legs whole-heartedly agree.
The sun was going down and I was mentally fried. It seemed that in a distant life I once lived, I had imaged myself crossing the finishing line before sunset. Now I was hoping to come in before midnight.
I quickly gave up the notion of hammering the marathon. The difference between a 16 hour race and 15 hours race was pretty meaningless. Besides, my legs would seize-up like a stray cat at a dog shelter every time I broke into the slowest of jogs. I just wanted to finish and perhaps start to enjoy the race a bit.
I met my wife on the first part of the run, which was an out and back 10K before 3 loops around Lake Minneola. She was running back and I was sort of walking (if you consider Frankenstein’s gate a walk). She looked great with two sponges tucked into her shirt. This was when she earned the nickname Sponge Barb.
We stopped and chatted. She told me that she had lost her Blackberry cell phone on the ride when she hit a big bump. I tried to express my concern as I was pounding on my thighs to keep them from locking-up. We had decided to bring our cell phones so that we could encourage each other during the race. She was really depressed, but more importantly she was way ahead and really doing great.
I on the other hand was at the wrong end of my marathon. The first 13 miles I did my best impression of the Frankenstein monster growling and terrifying the local villagers. In my case it was the other competitors and aid station helpers. I seemed to have done a proper job because by my second loop many of the aid station helpers had cleared out.
Somehow, by mile fourteen I was feeling good. I was (to my never-ending surprise) the only one running at this point and perhaps the only one on the course. Hurricane Wilma had scared many of the racers so there were only several hundred in the race to begin with…and most of them were finished.
There was just a small handful of us left running in total darkness, into on-coming traffic (the state law in Florida) on a road with no shoulder. Every so often I would spot the bouncing glow of a green light stick ahead in the pitch-dark Florida night. I’d run up to them and we’d start chatting. It was nice to have company, especially on the far side of the lake loop, which was now pitch black and very spooky in the gathering glum of hurricane Wilma.
I caught up to a friend I had made the night before at pre-race dinner. We almost hugged in the starless night and started chatting. He told me that he had found the strangest thing on the bike ride: an almost new Blackberry. And yes it did turn out to be my wife’s Blackberry.
She was there waiting for me when I crossed the finish line just before midnight. My beautiful Sponge Barb was there and about 30 other folks who stuck it out in the starless night. It was nothing like the Ironman finish you see on television. Nobody said, “You are an Ironman” except for my wife who had done terrific by overcoming her fear of the swim. She swam a blazing fast 2.4 miles and set the fastest Mica family record for an Iron distance race.
And while technically I’m not an Ironman, I am a finisher. I was hoping to check of this goal off my list and move on to others. But now, with so many flats, I have to race again just to see what time I can really do. Besides, I’ve set the bar so low that I can’t help but surpass my goal the next time. Ironman here I come.
May the air stay in your tires, and may the wind be at your back and not in your butt.
*Post Note 11/2/05: Yesterday, I took the Shimano wheels to the bike shop where I had purchased my new Giant and had long serious chat with the manager and boys in the repair department. They examined the wheels and pronounced the plastic rim strip that lines the inside of the wheels to be cheap, misarranged, and the most likely the cause of my trouble. They replaced it, at no charge, with a higher quality Italian brand. We’ll see.
