Contemplating the Off-Season

Enjoying the third day of the off-season surfing in Maui

It's been a while since I had a real off-season, but the planets have aligned this year to provide me with a little post-season, holiday, do-nothing block of time. Even though I ran the New York City Marathon two weeks ago, my post season off-time began the day after Ironman Kona. It started with a trip to Maui and ends right about now, in my kitchen, in front of my computer.

Why now, you ask? Because six weeks is enough! I've realized that there is still nothing interesting to watch on TV. I've fallen victim to the Halloween-candy-at-the-office five-pound weight gain (which, at my advanced age's metabolic slowdown, will no doubt take the next six months to eradicate). And I'm ready to stop looking at the past and now look at the future - a.k.a., my 2012 triathlon season.

To go forward, though, I feel the need to contemplate the past so that I can learn from it. The first mistake I ALWAYS make in reviewing the past is the one I'm going to try to avoid this time: remembering only the failures. In looking at years past, I usually only remember the things I want to change, like my poor performances. That's all well and good if I logically analyze what caused the poor performances. But I always forget to review what went right.

Why do we do that? Maybe the question should be: am I the only one who does that? Why does the negative emotional impact of my bad races outweigh the positive impact of my good ones? In other words: why do we dwell?

I don't have the answer to that. (All the psychologists of the world just breathed a collective sigh of relief.)

So, to focus on a positive review of last season, I will not mention the disasters that were two of my biggest races of the year: the USAT National Championship and Ironman Hawaii. Instead, I will review what went right:

• I won my age group in Ironman St. George by more than an hour, came in tenth overall and fifth amateur. (Who cares if it was with an embarrassingly-slow marathon?)
• I won my age group and set the age group course record in Ironman Lake Placid.
• I won my age group in Ironman 70.3 Muncie.
• I became the 2011 world champ in my age group at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas.
• I ran two marathons - Walt Disney World and New York City - just for fun, both with respectable times (and won my age group at Disney).

Punks, me and Ron in Vegas

Unlike last year, I am able to make that list this year because one of the other great things that happened in 2011 was to develop a great friendship with Ron, aka Punk Rock Tri Guy and @PunkRockRunner, who felt compelled to write me a motivational list before Kona - to remind me of the things I should remember about myself. He has been on a mission to turn my thinking around from dwelling on the disasters. Between Ron and my husband Jim (who has been on that same mission since I began running marathons in 1991), it might finally be setting in.

In addition to athletic endeavors, there were other positives in my life this year. I was able to get out of a dead-end job where I lived daily with fear and stress - and started a new job at a world-class institution, The Cleveland Museum of Art, doing something I love (web application development). It's amazing to me that a simple change has done so much for my attitude. I am now surrounded by positive and hard-working people who understand my training (many of whom have athletic lifestyles - and even run marathons). Several of the technical gurus I work for and with are women that I have developed a deep admiration for. Most importantly, people's eyes no longer glaze over when I go all technical (i.e., "geeky"). My favorite conversation of the last week was with our designers who were trying to create a model of our floor based on the terminology from Star Trek. Yep. Geeks. My people.

Elking around in up-state New York

Working at the museum also re-exposed me to the art world, something I didn't realize I missed until I was back in it. I was even bold enough to enter one of my prints in the staff art show. (This is huge if you know that every time in the past I had "chickened out" at the last minute - even after I had framed my art and had it all ready to go.) It appears I am letting go of some of my insecurities. I hope to be working more on my art in the near future because of the daily inspiration I get at work.

Thus, with a new mental foundation, and some successes in 2011, I am inspired to work hard(er) next year to build on the positive attitude and be able to capitalize in big races. If I'm fortunate enough to get another Kona slot, I will take what I have learned this year and apply it throughout training to eliminate more chances of something going wrong again.

Here are the things I've learned from my 2011 season, in no particular order: 

• Training with power is what works for my biking (thanks to the CompuTrainer). I don't think I can afford a power meter on the bike, so I will stick with the trainer for power workouts, and work hard during the winter months when I can't ride outside.
• I still need to figure out what is going on with my nutrition in the heat. Apparently, more sodium isn't enough and maybe it should be "lots more, even more than you think after you've taken more" sodium. I will be consulting a trusted nutritionist. I will also look into having these things (like sweat rate and sweat composition) tested. This is where I think my money will be best spent.
• My swim training this year reached a sort of plateau, but I'm confident I can get through this one because I managed to do the same time in my three Ironman races this year no matter how hard or how easy I trained for the swim. I broke a rib and lost two weeks leading up to Lake Placid and still did a 1:02. I trained mostly two days a week, sometimes three - so, if I consistently get that third day in, I have high hopes to break that one-hour barrier again. I know I'm capable of going well under it, but so much depends on what happens in the race (i.e., if I get clobbered).
• If I want to race well in short distances, I should not train for Ironman. ('nuff said.)
• Sleeping the night before a race fully depends on how confident I am that I can sleep before a race. It has nothing to do with how confident I am in my training. (I am NOT making this up.)
• More on nutrition: the paleo diet works (and I don't even follow it religiously)
• Even more on nutrition: despite what the guy from Infinit Nutrition told me in Kona, I do believe that protein is detrimental for me during a race. Once I switched to products without a complete protein (First Endurance E.F.S.), I stopped getting nauseous on the bike. This is subject to change when I work with a nutrition guru.
• If I train for the distance, racing is 90% mental. Even when I "blew" my race in Vegas by going out too hard on the run, I was able to pull out the win by focusing my mental energy.

Closing the book on 2011, in Kona

I'm sure there are many more lessons I will dig up in the next few months as I review my training from last year to revamp my training for this year. I still have not been able to justify getting a coach because of the expense and also because I feel like I know myself very well and I've been able to coach myself pretty well. I am considering it now because my one issue is knowing when enough is enough and learning to take it easy to let the hard work pay off. I read a great article about self coaching in Lava Magazine recently: The Self Coaching Conundrum featuring recommendations from pro triathletes Amanda Lovato and James Cunnama.

Thus, there is a lot to consider. But first things first. Get back into training. Build that base. Avoid the pitfalls of eating too much at Thanksgiving. Yikes, that's THIS WEEK! Y'all have a great one!

Nutrition, Dietary Transitions and Observations

I don't have anything to write a long blog about, but I want to stay in practice so I'll write about a few little things. Most of my time lately has been spent either at work (because we've had some really big things going on at the Zoo), logging miles and/or soul searching.

As an athlete, I'm always looking for that one thing that will make me better - whether that means faster or stronger or more durable (always a plus for someone known as the Disaster Magnet). The most recent thing I'm in the middle of is changing my nutrition both in and out of training and racing.

I've become a huge fan of First Endurance, so I'm switching over to using mainly their products (mostly E.F.S. liquid shot and drink) while training and racing. And how can you argue with the company that makes the "official training and racing supplement" of Leopard Trek and has a product mixture dubbed "the holy hand grenade." With my next long brick, I'm hoping to get a good test of whether this change will solve my dehydration and nausea issues on the run. Afterall, my problem seems to be related to salt and electrolytes and E.F.S. stands for Electrolyte Fuel System.

On the non-training front, I've also had a heads-up on nutrition. A good friend emailed me about dietary choices and asked me if I had ever tried switching to the "paleo diet." Now, I've read a million things about this type of diet - both good and bad - and it's touted by none other than my favorite triathlon coach, Joe Friel. However I never considered it because I don't eat meat. And I've learned that, as a vegetarian, I probably would have starved to death in paleolithic times. The diet is based on eating what paleolithic people ate - basically meat, fresh vegetables, nuts and seeds - with no products that came about as a result of modern agriculture (which, it's argued, our bodies have not yet adapted to). No dairy, no soy, no beans, no grains, no wheat products, etc. Thus, the basic food groups of vegetarians everywhere have been eliminated. (Vegetarians, please feel free to weigh in on this.) Upon reading several online sources (no, I've not purchased the books yet), there is quite a bit of disagreement about whether the diet includes certain products -- the big ones that I'm confused about are olive oil, eggs and yams/sweet potatoes. Some paleo experts say no to one or more of these things, while others do not.

There is also something called the "primal blueprint" diet that varies somewhat from paleo. First of all, it is more about lifestyle than diet. Not only do you eat paleo but you behave paleo - move around like a hunter-gatherer and sprint all-out once in a while. I can handle the gathering part because I have a large backyard and I do regularly gather raspberries, blueberries and tomatoes. And I do sprint once in a while in my training. But this primal thing also makes me wonder if I have to also come up with a way to live in fear of being eaten by a lion or other predator (which, believe it or not, isn't as hard as you might think, working at a zoo and being the disaster magnet and a blogger). One of the big dietary differences of "primal" is that fatty meat like bacon is included unlike the lean-only meat of the paleo advocates. So, yeah, there are variations and I don't know which one is right or wrong, but I also believe that too much of one thing can also be bad.

I will add the disclaimer is that I don't know everything about these diets yet and I welcome comments. However, I HAVE read that these types of diets are good for everything from curing chronic conditions to losing weight to giving you more energy.

Now, having said all of that, I would probably have dismissed diet advice immediately if it hadn't been for the source. It came from someone who has so many important things going on in his own life that I would never have expected he'd have time to send ME an email with nutrition advice. And therefore it was instantly compelling. So compelling that I am willing to think seriously about it - about changing from 20 years of a vegetarian diet. He probably doesn't even realize how much klout I gave his words (but I suspect he knows now).

After reading extensively, I've decided the most important reason to try a new diet was not for me but for my husband Jim. Jim has suffered from several chronic conditions for years: rheumatoid arthritis, hypo-thyroid, low energy, etc. My friend who recommended the dietary change has a spouse who also suffers from similar conditions. Changing their diet worked -- even without a 100% alteration.

After a couple emails about it, my friend questioned that at my level of competition, "isn't it worth a test?" And my answer could be nothing but "absolutely." I am adding fish back into my diet, and Jim and I have cut back on processed foods and carbohydrate consumption. I don't have any answers yet -- I suspect we need a little time to adapt. (And, embarrassingly, stress has sent me to the cookie jar already once this week. It's not something I'm proud of.)

And finally, with work, dietary and athletic challenges lately, I have found myself looking for some kind of deeper meaning, which usually happens after a perceived disaster (such as my broken rib). I wonder what IS the POINT of it all. Sometimes, there are coincidental answers. Like one that came recently at the Zoo.

She even had time to pose
with the photographer *sigh*

About a week ago, the Zoo had a famous visitor, Betty White. I'm sure you know that Betty's popularity has soared recently for many reasons. One of the reasons she's ultra-popular in Cleveland is because of her TV Land show "Hot in Cleveland." She was in town with her costars from the show (Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick) to accept the keys to the city from the Mayor. A well-known animal lover, Betty took a side trip to the Zoo for a personal tour from the Zoo Director.

I was "commissioned" to tag along as the official photographer. (What that means is my supervisor said "Betty White is coming to the Zoo tomorrow, do you have time to take some pictures?" Um... what kind of question IS THAT??? My answer? "I'll clear my schedule.")

My world changed that day. Through simple observation (and my camera lens), I got an insight into a woman who has often been called the "Animal Whisperer." I'm convinced Betty White's longevity has something to do with the peace she has with animals and people. I think she left an indelible mark on everyone who met her that day, and I'm now convinced that it may not be all about eating healthy and exercising, but that happiness and peace are essential in keeping us alive and well for many years.

One of the most amazing things Betty White did for us was a one-take 30-second video telling Cleveland about their Zoo. Being behind the video camera for that was one of the most thrilling and nerve-wracking experiences of my life. As the Disaster Magnet, I was SURE that I did something wrong like forgetting to press "play" on the camera.

But I didn't.

I hope that means my disastrous luck is changing.