WOW, doesn't even sum it up

The Return of the Prodigal Son (1773) byPompeo Batoni

I'm a Catholic school boy (Cafeteria style that is) so I know some scriptures.  Interesting turn of events today as Ironman Kona bid numbers went up.  My number is 1511, which seems to be a cool one, easy to remember for everyone.  First thing I do is punch 15 11 into Google and WHOA.

Parable of the Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11

In writing about my turn back to athletics over the past 6 years, this was just a great reminder of where I was in life.  There will always be problems, even in my day to day life now.  Back then, I made good money, moved to San Francisco, could do whatever I pleased, but something was missing and in search of that I blew through that income and wasted away a good chunk of my 20's on partying and pure debauchery.  It was a lot of fun though;)

Leading into Kona I'm happy for my 2nd chance at enjoying my athletic life.  There is more to life than just Swim/Bike/Run, but it helps make me a happier person to enjoy everything else even more.

Unfortunately I forgot a step in this story and didn't ask my father for the family money

Motivation - Kona and beyond

Heading into any race it is important to know what you are racing for.  For Canada, I wasn't really racing for anything except to have fun, and it showed.  For Kona, its a bit of a different story and brings my life full circle to setting and achieving goals, while getting back to what makes me truly happy.

Lets go back over 15 years to my last year in Track and Field.  Having a very promising Junior year, my season was looking great and pushing for a trip to a regional or state qualifier.  In retrospect, I let some things distract me from that goal, be it drinking, or other things.  Typical for a High School kid, but a trend that started non the less. 

College basketball fell in line with this attitude.  Working hard, but not making the sacrifices to be great.  Lucky for me, I did well in school and didn't squander a great college experience in multiple ways.

Heading into the real world, athletics took a back seat.  There was always "tomorrow" to get back to my old self. Shedding the 5-10 pounds I thought was hanging off me.  All the sudden, the 5-10 pounds turned into 40!  What the hell did I do to myself?  Work and personal life can give you a great number of excuses to not take care of your body, but this was out of control.  My own intervention was in order.  Luckily I have the Dad I do to help right the ship.  Once I had even a slight interest of getting into shape he was on it and registering me for an Escape From Alcatraz clinic and race that coming year.  That was the major wake up call.  Even in my own head I thought I could shape up in a few months and breeze through the race, but real life doesn't let you do that.  After the longest three and a half hours of my life, hurting back and pride, it was time for change.

My journey back to fitness has been one of sacrifice over the past six years.  Quitting a few bad habits, some I'm still embarrassed to post publicly, and learning to live a healthy lifestyle were starts, but in the process of wanting to be great at something, extra effort was needed.   Some might see this as self aggrandizing, and I can't argue with them, but all too often people reeeeeeeeeeeeeally want to do something, but fall short and then turn around and blame someone or something else for a shortfall.  That was a pitfall of mine in a few instances.  Not now.  I hope to help people see what is necessary to accomplish what you set out for, be it work or personal gain.  Do I need to go to this "Happy Hour" on a Wednesday, is it necessary to close out a bar to have fun?  These are the questions I faced over recent years.  Many people didn't understand some of my choices, even some of my tri-friends, but how often do you get the chance to do something great in your life though.  For many, something as trivial as Ironman doesn't qualify as "Great".  That's fine, but there isn't anything about that opinion that should keep me from trying.

The driving force is now wanting to inspire others and give back to those who supported me.  I have family members, friends and co-workers I would love to see get out and get fit.  They all can see how I push myself for my training, and if that inspires them to get out for a run, then that makes me happy.  When people show interest in improving and ask for advice, that makes me happy and I'll try my best to help.  Watching others attempt the same transformation makes me lifts my heart too.  Its easy to say that triathlon makes me happy.

My life has come together to support this as well.  An incredible girlfriend who isn't a triathlete, but shares the value of fitness (she rescued me when my I broke a spoke this weekend in the middle of nowhere, now that's love).  My loving family and friends who understand me and have obsessions the same way I do.  A great job and employer that allows the flexibility to accomplish my work, and train as needed.  Coaches that take the time to understand me and know my motivations (M2 and runcoach).  It takes time and effort to find the people and place in the world that allows you to be your real self.  Finding a way to repay these relationships is a priority, but difficult for a time crunched young professional.

Kona for me is about finishing what I started 6 years ago.  It wasn't my goal then, but it became it as I realized the potential left from a reformed ability.  I was given a second chance at my athletic youth (some call it being a man-child) and it will not go wasted this time.  Paying back my work relationship is easy, I get to be Iron Kitty!  Giving some free advertising along the way.  My friends, family and girlfriend are a bit tricky.  Lost time can never come back, but making the sacrifices when you can, goes a long way to letting them know you care.  I'm in arrears on that front, but hopefully that is what the holidays are all about.

Stepping into the water at Dig-Me beach, I know what I'm racing for and what got me there.  Thankful isn't enough to say for the love and support given to me over the past few years, so lets just say I'm honored to be able to race on the greatest venue for everyone who has been there to help me out along the way.

Wish me luck and I'll be thinking of everyone over these last two weeks.  Can't wait for round 2 of the Miller family reunion in Kona!

 

Silencing the voices in your head

When gearing up for an Ironman, its hard enough to keep your friends and family's opinions out of your decision making; "You never come out any more", "You don't have time for us", "I like fat Brett better". To add to that, if you want to get faster, there is this evil little voice that has even more power over you, and its in your own head. Keeping that voice silent, or at least muffled, is a great feat, and not very easy.

The voice comes from not having confidence in your ability. First, let me say that everyone has their goal for racing, and it may not be to be fast, but to just finish, and that is a great accomplishment. My point today is for those trying to break boundaries in their training, pushing past exhaustion and into uncharted territory. The little voice/devil wispering is the biggest detriment to training and everyone has to deal with it no matter what level they train at. The voice is constantly telling you to "let up" or "slow down" because it doesn't think your body can handle it. This isn't some ghost following you, it is your own mind because you haven't pushed your body hard enough to know what it can do.

Unfortunately for me, I'm heading into an Ironman, and I've never gone that fast for that long in my life. I have a bunch of 70.3's under my belt, so that gives me some confidence in my abilities, but trying to mentally prepare myself for 10 hours of screaming back at this voice has created some self doubt as I'm sure many Ironman rookies have faced.

Running today I started to strategize how to beat the voice. Riding a brutal 100 miles yesterday, I figured my legs would be a little tired, so my running adventure would be to keep my marathon pace for 12 miles with no nutrition. Strapping on my Garmin with heart rate monitor I was out the door. Cruising through Golden Gate Park to the Great Highway (downhill) it was easy to keep pace. Clipping along I was feeling great, even with a headwind at the beach. At the turn and coming back, still felt good, but with 4 miles left, the voice hit hard and I could feel my body start to fight itself to keep pace. I felt fine, but with nutrition depleting, your head plays funny games with itself. My pace fell and I switched to heart rate mode and it was well below where I thought it would be for my pace. With this knowledge I fought back and brought my pace back up. The uphill back home was a constant struggle to tell myself I could keep the pace constant by keeping a keen eye on my heart rate. Even with the voice screaming to pull back, I knew my HR was well below exhaustion. Hitting my second half split back home, I pulled in negative 2 minutes.

The one thing I try to keep in mind is my threshold level on the run. Your HR threshold is the only limit to getting to your running PR. While there is a limit to how long and how close you can come to it, a good strategy for your running race is managing this level. I know mine is around 175 bpm. Anywhere near that and my body starts to collapse and my stride fails. For every distance you can find a recommended percentage of that number, but everyone should find their threshold number before arbitrarily deciding what it is. The 220 minus age is not legitimate. People's body's are different. The way I found mine is hill repeats. Find an extended hill of about a half mile and start to find yours!

A good way to go about this is with a Heart Rate monitor and a good warmup. Many peoples' HR's will go crazy for the first 10 minutes, so nice and fluid before starting your monitor. Start the set with a strong effort the first hill, but hold back so you can see how your body responds to the first one or two. After that, continuously push yourself faster up the hill. At threshold, you should have to breath in for a step and exhale a step. My hill 5 of six created my fastest split and highest HR the last test I performed. This repetition had me exceed threshold though, and nearly hyperventilate by the top of the hill as I couldn't keep up my breathing, but success! I found my limit!

Knowing your limits and pushing them higher is the only way to create a breakthough performance. If you are looking to get to that next level, as always, temporary pain and suffering is the easiest way to get there.

This is not a one time thing either. As you improve, your threshold increases. The body is great at adapting to increased stress, improving circulation, and growing stonger. Your limit a month ago, may not be the same as today so make sure to keep in touch with where your body is to get the most out of your performaces.

The last four years

About four years ago I realized there were a few things wrong in my life. 1. I was 40 pounds overweight, 2. No workout regimen, 3. Drinking and "other" things were what I looked forward to. You can ask what the "other" means, but I'm definitely not writing them down anywhere.

I don't know what happened, but there was a spark at just the right moment and my father intervened and signed me up for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon and Training Camp. Training from near square one was one of the hardest things to do. I was a top track star in High School for Pete's sake! I couldn't run three miles without incredible pain in my back, or just screaming lungs the moment I hit a hill. I was no longer the college kid who could be out all night, get up for class, then run 10 miles. It was a humbling experience, but there was a drive it created in me I hadn't felt in a long time, and I liked it!

Fast forward to 2009....

My life had changed for the better and I completed and began to excel (personally) in numerous triathlons around the Bay Area and Arizona. It was time to up the ante and go for a Half Ironman! All my races were Olympic distance, and while I really enjoy the all out mayhem these bring, the longer distance is what I wanted to both challenge me as well as continue the progression to becoming fit again.

Joining my tri club was the best help for this. SF Tri Pep's were instant friends and we all helped each-other reach our goals. A great result at Wildflower, followed by Ironman Boise 70.3 and to cap off the year with an intense Clearwater 70.3 meant only 1 thing, doing a full Ironman in 2010.

While triathlon has changed my life for the past few years, and probably caused me to push off some personal and work interests, I can't say I regret any of it. 2010 is looking to be a great year and I mean to make the best of this second youth that has been granted to me.