Friday, April 29, 2011

eating bitterness (吃苦)

one of the more famous expressions in colloquial Chinese culture is the idiom: "eat bitterness" (in traditional Chinese characters: 吃苦). it's a phrase commonly imparted among the lessons passed between parents and children and teachers and students.

apart from its literal translation, its deeper meaning is that success requires sacrifice, in that achieving something good requires an investment of time and effort, and so anyone who desires a reward must be willing to do what is necessary to earn it. the expression is usually given within a larger implied context that to have something sweet you must first be willing to eat something bitter. for parents and teachers, the phrase is meant to remind their charges that good things will happen if they work hard, stay persistent, and exercise diligence in fulfilling expectations.

the concept is not confined to China. the message in the maxim is familiar to most Westerners. cultures in North America and Western Europe have their own equivalent phrases, such as: "practice makes perfect," "nothing good is ever easy," "earn it," or "hard work." it's also endemic in Western folklore, in fables like the Ant and the Grasshopper, or the Tortoise and the Hare, which teach audiences the virtue of hard and steady work.

with respect to the Chinese idiom, the image that is frequently associated with the phrase comes from the martial arts, with legends speaking of wise masters admonishing their students to "eat bitterness" in order to develop their martial skills. the accompanying stereotype is of a lone acolyte constantly practicing through long solitary hours enduring all manner of conditions that any audience of any culture would readily know: fatigue, hunger, thirst, soreness, pain, heat, cold, dry, wet, day, night, sorrow, despair, confusion, temptation, deprivation, isolation. the only constant through all this--in accord with the command given in the phrase--is the disciple's dedication and effort to endure and continue.

ultimately, the stories go, this is the one thing that pulls the disciple through. with hard and steady work, the student finally achieves their goals.

in doing so, however, something else happens. something related but somehow different yet very much better and very much more profound.

through the journey that is all the labors of so much time with so much effort through so many travails, the student finds an enlightenment to truths that give a grace far beyond the student's initial expectations or original awareness. and thus the diligent comes to know the real reward of all their work: transcendence.

this, as all masters at last reveal, is the supreme act of so much work, with the greatest lesson being the greatest reward. and it is something that cannot be bought, cannot be given, cannot be taken, but only earned and deserved and found and received...something only known through the revelation of experience.

unfortunately, in the modern era, the message in the maxim is often lost. many of us have forgotten the lesson of hard and steady work. you see it in our behavior towards education, our attitudes towards requirements, our ignorance of responsibilities, the manner in which we conduct ourselves in our lives and in the lives of others around us. carelessness, laziness, apathy, aversion to anything that hints of discomfort or effort or sacrifice. these values are all too often the norm.

unfortunately, this means that we then are unable to understand the significance of accolades or achievements. because we don't comprehend the costs involved in acquiring them. we don't realize just what it takes to get them. we don't know what they truly mean.

instead, we just see them. we simply recognize them. we only want them. even as we do not understand them and are not willing to do anything to get them. in other words, we expect but do not earn, we demand but do not deserve. in short, we assume entitlements.

and this is the heart of the problem. because it means we disrespect accomplishments, cheapen their value, insult all the sacrifices required to gain them. and above all, we deny ourselves their real lesson which is the real reward that only comes through the revelations of our experience made through all our work: transcendence. self-development. to be a better person.

eating bitterness.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

a quiet place

one of the lessons repeatedly taught in training is the importance of having a quiet place. named alternatively by a host of euphemisms like the zone, the center, the calm, the void, the happy place, the place where things are free, it's not a literal space but rather a metaphor for anything that connotes the idea of a state in which we are able to focus without distraction and act without encumbrance in a liberation of the mind that releases the body and uplifts the soul.

this is not to say it's stillness, nor silence, nor state of doing nothing. because chaos rules the universe and the world is in constant motion and within their workings we must engage. preferably in ways that make them magnified, so that their sum transcends the limits of their making and gives to them the purpose of their meaning. just as much as we were bid to do by the act of our creation in the moment water and wind met sea and sky.

but this, as we learn so very quickly when we hit very hard pavement, is so very hard to do. we are not so free. confined we by our mortality and the limits of our comprehension. because chaos rules the universe. and the world is in constant motion. and within their workings we must engage.

until we become constrained by the afflictions of our own suffering.

which is why we are taught to train. to practice. to study. to work. to act. to return to our craft upon this earth. again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and

again.

until training becomes practice becomes study becomes work becomes act becomes craft becomes

passion

and we submerge ourselves within its waters and subsume ourselves within its winds and come to know its face and hands and heart and pulse and emotion and feel its soul coursing as time beyond eternity and wisdom past reckoning that reveals to us this truth:

we are the nexus

the zone the center the calm the quiet here there everywhere in the midst of even in the midst of especially in the midst of
chaos
motion
working

engaged

free

in the serenity past all suffering

and always have been and always will be.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

earth day 2011

well, it's Earth Day 2011. one of the events i choose to mark with this blog as part of its social causes component. i'm going to do things slightly differently than i have in the past (reference: Earth Day 2010, Earth Day 2009, Earth Day 2008, and Earth Day 2007), where i've concentrated on one particular environment & sports issue (primarily race day trash, which i should point out continues to be an issue we as athletes need to address), and instead deal with the larger theme of Earth Day.

i won't bore you with the details about the Earth Day background. i really just want everyone to note the day on their calendar (this year, it's Friday, April 22, and coincident with the Christian Good Friday and the Jewish Passover). i also want to provide useful links to direct anyone interested in learning about what Earth Day is, how it started, and what you can do if you choose to participate.

you can learn more about Earth Day from the following:
i also found a couple of pretty good videos, one just a general public service announcement and another one aimed more at the athlete community:

Earth Day 2011: http://youtu.be/4Mxjbip6y04


Athletes for the Earth: http://youtu.be/TxvMh2DaGfk

the latter one, obviously, is about environmentally-conscious athletes. i figured everyone who follows this blog would find it relevant.

i'd encourage you to learn more, since one of the messages i'd like to give people who read this post is that athletes can have social consciences and can pursue causes related to them. we don't have to be single-minded obsessive athletes. we are human beings, and so we need to be mindful of developing our whole identity as humans. one of the purposes behind sports is exactly this--to develop a sound body, sound mind, and sound spirit; the total that makes up our whole experience as human beings. having an awareness and compassion for the world around us is part of this.

of course, this message probably applies for everyone in general. so to that end, i encourage everyone to take a little time to learn more about Earth Day, and then go spread the word to anyone interested.

Monday, April 18, 2011

sick sick sick sick. booooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i seem to be in a perpetual state of unending sickness.

and every time i think i'm over it, it seems to come back.

i don't know if it's a situation of just 1 long continuous disease into which i repeatedly relapse, or if it's a series of random afflictions that have found me. i don't know if its viral or bacterial. i don't know if it's been happening sequentially or simultaneously.

all i know is that over the course of the past ~2 months (actually, about 10 weeks), i've seemed to alternate weeks of perfect health with weeks of fever, headaches, sweating, chills, stuffy nose, wheezing, coughing, weakness, exhaustion, and sleeping. lots and lots of sleeping.

with lots and lots of snot.

it's been frustrating, really. annoying. it's sent my training schedule to hell (every workout results in me relapsing right back into utter infection). it's completely disrupted my work pattern (every week of illness constricts my radius of activity to my apartment). and it's totally obliterated my personal life (face it: nobody wants to be around somebody who's a walking carrier of prolonged contagion).

so far this past winter, i've managed to avoid any diseases. i chalked up to a flu shot and good health courtesy of my physical fitness. but then February came around and everything just went nuts. i don't think i've ever had a season of sickness like this.

it is, quite frankly, an unbelievable pain in the ass.

and, i have to say, really befuddling. i honestly don't know where all these bugs are coming from. sure, i'm on college campuses where diseases tend to run rampant, but that doesn't explain why this year would be any different from any of the other years i've had at school. sure, i've increased my training load over the winter, but it wasn't any more than any other recent years. sure, i've had to deal with repeated extended exposure to cold, windy, and wet conditions courtesy of several interview trips, the LA marathon, and chaotic spring weather, but that's not anything out of the ordinary. i just don't know where any of this is coming from.

all i can say is that i'm ready for this to be over. summer's coming. i have a lot of traveling and work to do. i really would like to get into some form of physical fitness and resume an active lifestyle. and i just want to get out and meet people and be a part of the world.

and i'd like to start now.

because i'm just really sick of being sick. booooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, April 11, 2011

coffee, caffeine, and the endurance athlete

i'll be the first to admit i like coffee. not to the point where it's a compulsion or craving, but definitely to the point that it's something (at times, the one thing) that i yearn for on certain occasions--like just after waking up on a cold winter morning, or right after dinner with a post-meal dessert, or a little bit before a long day's workout as the realization of what i'm about to do sinks into me.

i'm sure it has to do with the kick-start that comes with the injection of caffeine (something that as become noticeably more necessary as i've gotten older). but there's something beyond that, too: there's something about the taste and smell of coffee that's becoming comforting, almost reassuring, and aids the transition between the phases of the day. that, and there's just something about taking several minutes to hold a cup of hot coffee and sip its steamy goodness for; it's a moment of civilization for our all-too uncivilized times.

i'm suspect i'm not alone. in fact, i'm sure i'm not alone. i know a fair number of people, even within the athlete (professional, elite, recreational, or otherwise) community who always find that things go better with a cup of coffee to start their days. some i know can't function without it.

which is funny, because there's been controversy over the years about the issue of coffee relative to sports. not purely for the performance-related questions about its caffeine, but for its overall affect on athlete health.

well, you can add this recent piece to the discourse (as usual, if the link doesn't work i've put the full text of the article at the end of this post):
the article summarizes the state of research regarding coffee (and its caffeine content) and health, and finds that most recent research indicates that it is good for you. apparently, past science was based on limited population samples or restricted data.

i certainly find this reassuring, but i figured it'd be worthwhile to also reference some additional sources to further illuminate the issue, particularly in relation to endurance sports. most of what i found deals with the question of caffeine and sports, but i did find some that were more germane to endurance athletes:
essentially, i'll summarize them in terms of what they say about the performance benefits of caffeine and its potential dangers.

in terms of performance benefits, this is what the research seems to show about caffeine (and hence coffee) and endurance sports:
  • performance-wise, one theory is that caffeine assists the body in utilizing fat as a source of energy. in endurance sports, this is important, as the glycogen used by the body for fuel exists in much greater quantity in fats than in carbohydrates, with carbohydrates typically only providing an athlete about 90-150 minutes (depending on the individual and the circumstances) of sustained activity and fast providing much longer reserves.
  • another theory is that caffeine helps the body improve the release of calcium into the body. this allows the muscular and bioelectrical systems to sustain muscle contraction for longer periods of time. this is an obvious benefit for endurance sports, where the priority is maintaining continuous muscular activity over an extended duration.
in terms of potential dangers with caffeine, this is what the research notes:
  • organized sports have placed, or are beginning to place, standards regarding allowable levels of caffeine in athletes. caffeine is seen as an ergogenic aid (i.e., it improves performance), and so is subject to limits. in the U.S., for example, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA, the organization that oversees major organized collegiate sports), sets a limit of 12mg/liter of caffeine in test samples from any student athlete. athletes who test beyond this are potentially subject to sanctions, as are their schools.
  • caffeine is a diuretic, which risks inducing dehydration and thereby causing muscle cramps. neither of these are desirable for athletes.
caffeine is a stimulant affecting the neuromuscular system, and so excites bio-electrical pathways related to movement control. for some athletes, however, this means a distortion of their motor coordination to a degree that is detrimental to their performance. most of us had experienced the "shakes" that comes with drinking copious amounts of coffee, and realized the affect it's had on our bodily comfort level. well, this also means it's affected our physical coordination, and hence athletic ability.

personally, i've always enjoyed having a little coffee (less than a cup) before long workouts (especially the long bike rides training for Ironman). i've suffered the diuretic affects, but have always been willing and able to deal with them. i've never been aware of any performance benefits, but it certainly made a difference in my comfort level going from early-morning grogginess to full-on workout mode.

having said that, i'm very much aware that the affect of caffeine varies by the athlete, and that some find coffee and caffeine better than others. some, i know, avoid it like the plague. i don't think there's any real strict rules at this point, and it's largely up to the individual to figure out what benefit caffeine has for them. assuming they stay within the limitations set by the governing bodies of their sports, it's something that each person can decide for themselves.

of course, there are those who are addicted to their coffee. for them, i offer this:
these articles basically note that some people have a genetic predisposition for coffee, either towards the caffeine or otherwise. in which case, their proclivities may be somewhat out of their control.

in which case, all i can say is: condolences? congratulations? commiseration?

and would you like some coffee?

Nutrition Lab
Coffee Studies Should Warm Your Heart

By Elena Conis, Special to the Los Angeles Times
April 10, 2011

Looking for a reason to not give up your coffee habit? Here's one possibility: heart health.

Numerous studies in recent years have reported that drinking coffee may be good for the cardiovascular system and might even help prevent strokes. Just last month, Swedish researchers announced results of a large study showing that coffee seemed to reduce the risk of stroke in women by up to 25%.

Not long ago, researchers thought quite the opposite about coffee and the heart, says Dr. Thomas Hemmen, director of the UC San Diego Stroke Center: "Coffee is fun and it tastes good, so people assumed for many years that it would be bad for you."

Studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s offered little in the way of confirmation or refutation. Several suggested an increased risk of heart attack among coffee drinkers. Others showed a lowered risk of heart attack and stroke. Still others found no connection at all.

Many of these early studies were criticized for being too small or too brief. In response, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health decided to look at coffee consumption, heart disease and stroke risk among more than 45,000 healthy men enrolled in the school's ongoing Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Their analysis, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1990, found that coffee drinking had no effect on the men's risk of heart attack or stroke.

But in the last few years, a spate of studies has revisited the question, and many of them have found — unexpectedly — that coffee drinking is linked to a decreased stroke risk.

A 2008 study of more than 26,000 male smokers in Finland found that the men who drank eight or more cups of coffee a day had a 23% lower risk of stroke than the men who drank little or no coffee. And a few other reports suggest the effect applies to healthy nonsmokers too. Researchers at UCLA and USC examined data on coffee consumption and stroke prevalence among more than 9,000 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. At a 2009 conference, they reported that the likelihood of stroke was highest among people who didn't drink coffee and lowest among those who drank the most coffee: 5% of people who drank one or two cups a day suffered strokes, whereas 2.9% of people who drank six or more cups suffered strokes. The study will be published in a few months.

Results from an even larger study of coffee drinking and stroke risk were published in the journal Circulation in 2009: Among the 83,000 women enrolled in Harvard's ongoing Nurses' Health Study, those who drank two to four cups of coffee a day had a 19% to 20% lower risk of stroke than women who drank less than one cup a month.

And this year, a study of more than 81,000 men and women in Japan showed that drinking one or two cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by up to 23%. The findings were published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Such studies reveal that coffee isn't harmful, as once thought, and might even be beneficial, says Dr. Larry Goldstein, professor of medicine and director of the Duke University Stroke Center. But while they show an association between coffee drinking and lower stroke risk, they still don't prove that coffee is the cause, he says.

"People who drink coffee are different in many ways from those who don't drink coffee," says Dr. Nerses Sanossian, one of the authors of the UCLA-USC study and a professor of neurology at USC.

Any one of those differences, or more than one of them, could be behind the apparently lower stroke risk. Some of the studies that show a link between coffee drinking and reduced stroke risk have also shown that coffee drinkers are more likely to smoke, have lower education levels and have diets higher in potassium. And although it's unlikely that smoking, for instance, is behind their reduced stroke risk, it's possible that something else is. "It may be due to some other factors we haven't even taken into consideration," Sanossian says.

Even though coffee is considered safe, even in large amounts, you shouldn't rush to take up the habit, says Mark Urman, a cardiologist at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. "If you're not a coffee drinker, don't start drinking to prevent a stroke or otherwise," he says. Coffee can cause heart palpitations in some people, and withdrawal symptoms in those who try to skip their daily cups for a day or two. And many people, he adds, like to load their coffees with cream and sugar, which could very well counteract any advantage coffee has for the blood vessels and heart.

Definitive proof that coffee is good for the blood vessels is unlikely to emerge anytime soon, Hemmen says. Such studies would need to randomly select people to drink either a lot of coffee or a little coffee, and then researchers would have to closely monitor their coffee intake and health for decades.

And that, says Hemmen, would be "very difficult, and really expensive."