IRONMAN WISCONSIN, or not, I have always been super curious about hydration.  Like most things there are many schools of thought, but I tend to think many people are chronically de-hydrated and it’s a huge reason why people get sick and even wind up with disease.  The theory is really quite simple.  Our bodies run on mostly water and each cell must have a proper amount. If there’s not enough to go around, the critical organs like the brain and heart are protected. This can mean the liver, kidney, digestive system etc. get the short end of the water stick and start to fail.  But hydration doesn’t just mean water and many times that’s where vegetables (and fruit) can help fill a deficiency.  Anyway . . . I’m far from an expert on this stuff, but even though my diet is leaning more green, I felt tired this afternoon and 3-4 glasses of water changed that tune almost instantly.

If you are racing IRONMAN WISCONSIN here’s 20 things I learned last time I did it.

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After my first video, I did a strength workout last night that kicked my ass!  It was simple push ups, planks, pull ups, and squats. Two sets of each with ample rest in between.  I found out what I suspected . . . while I may be in decent triathlon shape, I’m pretty “weak” in general.  Especially (and oddly) with the squats (which were just body weight).

That actually happened yesterday, and tonight I had an easy 40 minute run with some decent hills.

The diet thing was pretty good today, but it’s reeking havoc with my body in some ways.  I’ve been starting with a huge (alkaline) green juice and I believe it’s slowly reorganizing my gut flora and/or bacteria because I have for the most part had no desire for sweets (although I did cave and have a cookie at one point which left me noticeably bloated).  I’ve been mainly eating/juicing greens, eating assorted nuts, and eating eggs and small portions of meat.  The carbs are coming from sweet potatoes and vegetables (namely carrots).  What’s most exciting is that I haven’t had bread, pizza, or pasta in over a week and feel like my mood is starting to stabilize.  Please join our Facebook Group and follow @crushingiron on Twitter.

I’m a little tired of writing these days, so this is the first in what will hopefully be an ongoing series that chronicles my Ironman Wisconsin training thoughts.  This one focuses on my new diet/training outlook courtesy of Mark Sisson and the Joe Rogan podcast. Mark is 62 years old and used to race at KONA and do a lot of endurance back in the day, but his body started falling apart.  His words really hit home because I’ve been feeling that way for the last 3 years of training.  My goal is to find some sort of hybrid between his plan and one that feels right for my mind and body.  Follow our Facebook Group and on Twitter @crushingiron

BASKETBALL AND TRAINERS

Most of you know I’m a big Wisconsin Badgers fan, and if you follow college hoops you also know my boys have been struggling this year.  I used to kick back and giggle as recent Wisconsin teams methodically dismantled Big 10 foes on their way to a high seed in the tournament, but now I get on my trainer and air out the angst! Last night I rode out the entire Penn State game while visualizing those Madison hills at Ironman Wisconsin.

SNOW RUNNING 

Then, I woke up this morning to another reminder of Wisconsin, snow!  I mean, it wasn’t 24 inches of snowmobiling layers we used to get back home, but it was pretty legit.  I was out of coffee, so I decided to drive over and grab some from Ugly Mugs, but my car got stuck on the first little hill.  I had to do that awkward back-up-into-the-intersection thing and turn around. I am officially Nashville.

But I was inspired and threw on my trail shoes.  It’s four miles roundtrip and running in two inches of snow is absolutely awesome for old guys like me with sore ankles.

It was coming down pretty good and flakes pelted my eyes like needles, which I’m hoping is another great way to naturally improve eyesight.  Thankfully Ugly Mugs was open and I grabbed my beans for the return trip.

SNOW CROSSFIT

About a mile from home I saw a truck ahead spinning its wheels on a hill.  It was a typical Southern move by this guy . . . flooring it and going nowhere.  I closed in, then tore across the intersection without missing a beat and started pushing him up the hill.  I was also keeping him from slinking into the ditch.  For about 200 yards I pushed and steered the back end of his weightless truck bed.  The whole time I imagined he was the kind of guy that hated runners and I was building a bridge.  That he’s in the truck with his wife saying, “Ya know, honey, these them there runner types ain’t half bad.”

When we finally got to the top of the hill, I gave him one final shove and yelled, “Slow it down a little!”  I never saw his face, but he put his hand out the window and yelled, “Thank ya, runner!”

I watched with pride as he crested the hill then disappeared into the rolling terrain ahead, and thought to myself, “He’s fucked.”

POLAR PLUNGE 

So, this has been on my mind for a while now and I’m looking for someone to join me in this recovery/healing plan.  Quick one minute dips into the ice tank. Who’s with me?  [follow_me]

I’m continually looking for things that reinforce my belief that anything is possible.  Whether it be naturally improving eyesight, an Age Grouper winning IRONMAN, or following a guy that wants to live forever.  But these stories rarely show up in traditional media because today’s news is a number’s game.

I’m not interested in people telling me to use sanitizer wipes, I’d rather hear that exposure to germs is necessary for your immune system.  I don’t need someone telling me to stock up on milk because the roads will be slick in the morning.  And I certainly can’t take another cute blonde telling me to get a flu shot.

I want to hear about people who are pushing the limits and don’t settle, not predictable words written by an underpaid producer and read by a handsome guy in make up.  I want information that inspires and shakes.

About two months ago, I was having trouble sleeping (probably worried about the new landfill zoning)  on a cold dark night and by chance I landed on a mind-blowing Joe Rogan Podcast. Right there before me was “The Iceman,” Wim Hof, bursting with energy and sharing his secrets for being alive: Deep Breathing and Exposure to the Cold.

Hof owns 20 world records related to extreme weather feats, including: climbing Mt. Everest and running a marathon at the arctic circle in -4 degrees; both wearing only shorts, and standing neck deep in a tank full of ice for one hour and forty four minutes.

He credits his ability to control his autonomic nervous system (turning up his internal thermostat through breathing) and says this ability can be learned.  He also says the things he is doing only scratch the surface of human capability and there is evidence these relatively simple techniques are capable of reversing many of our modern day diseases, including Parkinson’s.

There is really cool movement going on outside of the mainstream.  People all over are refusing to accept limits by pushing the endless possibilities of humanity.

IRONMAN is a great example because it’s turning into the modern day version of the marathon. The more that people do it, the more we realize it’s not as impossible as it seems.  What’s next?

In a world of polluted airwaves it’s hard to escape negativity, but people like Wim Hof are cutting through the noise with explosive discoveries, many of which are proven by science.  And if a guy like him, in his 50’s, can also finish a full marathon in the Namib desert without water, I gotta believe I can find a better approach to hydration for a silly little thing like IRONMAN.

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Check out this film on Wim Hof produced by Vice.

Lately I’ve been eating the same meal every day:  a can of tuna (plain), a full avocado, and a green apple.  It could be for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but I make it happen once.  Sometimes that leads to a salad or an equally healthy meal, other times, I eat a full pizza.

The reason this is important is because the bones for this somewhat haphazard theory come from a guy whose words have had a big impact on me lately. His name is Jacob Liberman and I learned about him through his book, “Take Off Your Glasses And See.”

I’ve had the book for years and seem to always pull it out when I’m in one of life’s low spots (something that IRONMAN off season can do to you).  In essence, he is an eye doctor who doesn’t buy into the theory that your eyes are uncorrectable or have to keep getting worse.  He is more concerned with how we really “see” and the deeper truths of vision.

He approaches life by trusting that the universe will tell him the right things to do at the right times.  Living in the moment.

I’m not finished re-reading the book, but I stumbled onto his Ted Talk, which is below.  He has a calm and subtle delivery and I find his approach fascinating.  I have typed out some of the highlights below if you want to see where in the hell all of this is coming from before you spend 20 minutes on the video.

Here’s one thing I really liked: –  “The great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.  When love and hate are both absent, the world is clear.  If you wish to see the truth, hold no opinions for or against anything.  To hold what you like against what you dislike is a disease of the mind.”  

Jacob Liberman – “Stop Looking, Start Seeing”  Ted Talk Notes

– When he was a kid, he was in a convenience store and decided to steal a candy bar.  As he slipped it into his pocket he heard a voice that said, “Nobody saw you.”  And that’s when he realized someone was watching.
–  Every cell has a job.  Every tree, animal, and universe has a job.  The tree never has to think about its job.  It’s continually guided and placed precisely in the environment it needs to nourish it.  The same is true for all species.
–  There is an animating force in the universe.  Something is moving everything.
–  At certain points of our lives we realize we understand absolutely nothing.
–  Consider the possibility that the eye looks for nothing and that life is looking for us.
–  Consider the possibility that the eye never moves or initiates anything … it moves when light finds it… it’s a reflex.
–  Every cell has a job.  Taking us precisely where we need to be in perfect time.  It’s also rising and setting the sun . . . rolling in the tides . . . the exact same force.
–  The great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.  When love and hate are both absent, the world is clear.  If you wish to see the truth, hold no opinions for or against anything.  To hold what you like against what you dislike is a disease of the mind.
–  When light interacts with the eye, most goes through the eye to the hypothalamus… that part of the brain that controls everything.  Where emotions collect and connect. It continually syncs itself with Mother Nature.
–  When you say “You think it’s going to rain,” what you really say is, “I don’t know.”  So thinking means, “I don’t know.”  Consider the possibility that what we call worrying, is thinking.
–  When something enters your awareness, it’s looking for you . . . bills, emails, laundry.  Don’t prioritize it, the universe has already done so.
–  It takes work to choose, consider being choice-less.

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Don’t you hate when Semi-trucks blow by you on the highway when it’s raining?  On my way home for Christmas it was pouring in Illinois and truck after truck sent my nerves through the roof as water splashed on my windshield like I was looking through swim goggles.  I mean, sometimes I get really close to panic because I can’t see anything.  I tried fast wipers, then slow, but nothing seemed to work, until . . . I stopped looking at the road. Yes, I’m not kidding.  I tried to relax and move my vision around.  Looking over at the truck a little, glancing to my right, then at the road, etc . . . A funny thing happened.  I was instantly more relaxed because I could see much better.  Why?  The only thing I can come up with is that I wasn’t completely focused on looking straight ahead (which seems like the biggest blind spot in those situations) but using all of my vision to get a grip on the entire surroundings.  

One of the things that’s always bothered me about triathlon is the repetitive nature of these long swim, bike, and runs.  Over and over and over, we do the same thing. In my heart, I’ve always believed that can’t be good for you.  It’s certainly not dancing, but . . . with the right mindset, it could be.

I’m extremely guilty of using the word focus.  Focus isn’t bad in theory, but intense focus has a strange effect on the mind and body.  Try staring at something for a long time and notice how it makes your body/vision feel. Everything starts closing in around you and you lose perspective.

It’s easy to get this feeling in triathlon.  In some ways it seems necessary to plow through the grueling task in front of us.  Every bit of energy is put into focus.

That doesn’t align with how I would prefer to tackle an IRONMAN.  In some ways it’s like shutting off your senses for 12 hours.

But, when my head is right, I refer to racing as meditation, and that’s the mindfulness I would prefer to let happen.

I’ve finished 3 IRONMAN races and clearly remember feeling the most peaceful in two events:  my Louisville swim, and my Chattanooga bike.  Not coincidently, those were by far my best times in each.

For lack of an better explanation, I believe that during those race segments I wasn’t “looking” but I saw everything.  Not just the road or water in front of my face, but the entire energy around me.  When I swam, I saw the shore.  When I biked, I felt the countryside.

On most of my training runs I “try” to look into the distance rather than at the ground. But this has yet to happen consistently in a race.  I’ve always had that limiting feeling . . . like the world has closed in around me and the only energy available is my own.

Whenever I “press” or “focus” on “crushing it” one of three things happen:

– I become tight
– I become miserable
– I burn out.

This happens in every day life as well.  We are taught to crank out the work, focus, and take control!  But when we allow ourselves to flow, everything, including racing, is easier.

So, as I start a new year of training, I’m going to shift my vision on the concept of “crushing” races.  I’m going to train in a way that trusts (and accepts) outside energy.  Opening my mind to embrace that mysterious animating-force in the universe that understands my direction much better than I do.

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