let it out (the documentary movie)

i came across something interesting while on a very random surf on the internet. and while it's tenuously triathlon-related, it is very much sports-related, as well as life-lessons-oriented, and so i thought worth passing on to everyone.

some time ago the Kleenex brand of tissues had a series of commercials featuring a faux-talk-show-host setting up a table and a couch for guests in random locations around the country. by random, i mean random, with the entire set placed in the middle of street corners, people's houses, city parks, highways shoulders, etc. the hook was that apparently random strangers walking by would be invited to sit on the couch and talk about something personal in their lives. invariably, in the course of conversation, the tears would start to flow and the host would predictably bring out the Kleenexes to wipe up the blubbery heart-string moments.

well it appears they revived the concept, at least on-line, and did so in relation to athletics. and they did it not as a commercial, but as an actual 40-minute documentary, with the focus on former Olympic athletes and their own personal stories of what sports meant for them and their families and how it altered their lives.

check it out when you get the chance:

• http://www.kleenex.com/Let-It-Out/Let-It-Out-Movie.aspx

i think this turned out rather well. i suspect this was actually produced in time for this past Beijing Olympics, as part of the drum-up leading into the games, since it carries a presentation style clearly intended to pull at the emotional appeal to great Olympic moments. on a more general level, though, the documentary does a very good job of delving into the personal nature of sports and the significance it takes on for athletes and spectators, and highlights some of the more admirable qualities and contributions of athletics. in doing so, it points out the capacity for sports to contribute to humanity and the human condition--and however maudlin and trite that may sound, i still think it's a commendable one. especially since it is well done.

i've written at various times on this blog about the various aspects of sports, and discussed its nefarious aspects as much as its transcendant ones. but i've always tried to treat sports--in my case endurance and adventure sports--as a mechanism for sublime human experiences, and a way of realizing higher truths and nobler ideals in life. as a result, i always gravitate towards presentations that promote parallel or matching messages. i think this is one of them.

and yes, i know, it's a promotional advertising tool for Kleenex. but i'm willing to look past this and see the documentary as a work of art by film-makers. because the message they give about sports and athletics still comes through.

try to watch the documentary in its entirety if you can. preferably in a block of time without distractions. i think you'll like it as much as i did.

sunscreen (or the lack thereof)

ah yes, how lovely. apparently sunscreen doesn't work to protect you from the sun...or at least, most of it doesn't.

there was an article that was first run by the news media in early July on recent research that shows most sunscreens don't actually protect you as well as you think they do. the ultraviolet light from the sun that damages your skin comes in the form of UVA and UVB radiation. but the SPF labels given on sunscreen products only measure protection against UVB, and so give no real indication as to their effectiveness against UVA light. according to the research, most sunscreens--even the ones with SPF labels going 30, 50, or higher--don't protect you against UVA, leaving you completely exposed to their harmful effects.

you can see the WebMD article summarizing the research:

• http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20080701/group-sunscreens-effectiveness-hazy

if the link doesn't work, i'm including the full text of the article at the bottom of this post.

i also took the effort of digging up more information on the research:

• http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens2008/summary.php

there's also a full list of sunscreens and their individual ratings:

• http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens2008/findyoursunscreen.php?sunscreens=1&overall=g&nothanks=1
• http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens2008/
  

of course, the sunscreen i use (Coppertone Sport, SPF 50) is among the list of those that are labeled as "high hazard" of not working (ranking a beautiful "7" on a scale of 1-10 of ineffectiveness, with 10 being the least ineffective). meaning that all this time i've pretty much been wasting my money and effort, and moreover, turning my skin into a nice UVA crisper. and with all the hours that you spend training outdoors in endurance sports (and you have to in endurance sports...you just don't do 8-hr. bike rides and 3-hr. runs inside, or you can but you risk going insane from the stir-crazy confines of whatever gym you're using), there's no telling how much damage i've done to my skin.

ah yes, how lovely.

i'll make it a point to think about this next time i go looking for sunscreen...hopefully one that actually works.

Group: Effectiveness of Sunscreens Hazy
Advocacy Group Says Many Popular Sunscreens Offer Inadequate Sun Protection, Calls on FDA to Implement Label Changes
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health News

July 1, 2008 -- An environmental research and advocacy group claims that four out of five brand-name sunscreens either provide inadequate sun protection or contain chemicals that may be unsafe, but industry representatives strongly dispute the charge.

In a report released Tuesday, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) calls on the FDA to implement promised changes in sunscreen labeling that would require manufacturers to provide more detailed information about the level of sun protection their products provide.

For the first time, manufacturers would have to test and label their products for protection against ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation, which does not cause sunburns but can damage collagen and cause wrinkles and sunspots. Research suggests that UVA is a cause of skin cancer.

The labeling upgrade was proposed by the FDA last August, but the changes have not been finalized.

The current sun protection factor (SPF) labeling system, which was implemented three decades ago, measures only protection from UVB rays -- the ultraviolet rays that cause sunburns.

"You can buy a high SPF product and still have no assurance that you are being protected from UVA, as well as UVB rays," EWG research director Jane Houlihan tells WebMD.

In their newly published analysis of more than 900 brand-named sunscreens, EWG researchers concluded that 7% of the products with SPF ratings of 30 or higher did not protect against UVA rays.

Only 15% of the sunscreens met the group's criteria for safety and effectiveness by providing broad-spectrum sun protection (denoting protection against both UVA and UVB radiation), remaining stable in sunlight, and containing only active ingredients considered safe by the EWG.

The top-selling sunscreen brands tended to be the poorest performers, with none of market leader Coppertone's sunscreen products consider to be both safe and effective by the EWG.

Just one of 103 products from the second-largest seller, Banana Boat, and the third largest seller, Neutrogena, were recommended by the EWG.

Here are their top picks:

• Keys Soap Solar Rx Therapeutic Sunblock, SPF 30
• Trukid Sunny Days Facestick Mineral Sunscreen UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum, SPF 30+
• California Baby Sunblock Stick No Fragrance, SPF 30+
• Badger Sunscreen, SPF 30
• Marie Veronique Skin Therapy Sun Serum
• Lavera Sunscreen Neutral, SPF 40
• Vanicream Sunscreen, SPF 35
• UV Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+
• Sun Science Sport Formula, SPF 30
• Soleo Organics Sunscreen all natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+

Among more widely available brands, Blue Lizard, California Baby, CVS, Jason Natural Cosmetics, Kiss My Face, Neutrogena, Olay, SkinCeuticals, Solar Sense, and Walgreens made the list.

More on the recommended brands along with the complete list of rated sunscreens can be found at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens2008.

In a statement issued to WebMD on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Coppertone manufacturer Schering-Plough disputed the report's findings with regard to its products.

"All Coppertone products are photostable, provide UVA/UVB protection, and are routinely evaluated for safety and efficacy by independent dermatologists and scientists," Julie Lux of Schering-Plough says.

"Coppertone is committed to the science and safety of sun care and is concerned that reports like this one released by the Environmental Working Group will inappropriately discourage consumers from protecting themselves from the sun."

A spokeswoman for Neutrogena parent company Johnson & Johnson also defended its sunscreens.

"All Neutrogena products undergo extensive testing to ensure safety and efficacy," Iris Grossman says in a statement.

Banana Boat issued a statement saying that all Banana Boat products "use only ingredients that are safe and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other worldwide regulatory bodies," that their products won't break down in the sun, and that the Skin Cancer Foundation officially recommends Banana Boat as an effective UV sunscreen.

The EWG analysis suggested that nearly half of the products contained ingredients known to become inactive in strong sunlight.

"It may seem counterintuitive, but of the 17 'active ingredients' that FDA has approved for use as sunscreens in the U.S., at least four of them break down significantly when they are exposed to sunlight," the EWG report notes. "They lose their ability to absorb the sun's harmful rays and stop working effectively in as little as 30 minutes, ranging up to several hours."

Products containing the sun-stable and UVA filtering ingredients zinc oxide and titanium dioxide were more likely to score highly in the group's analysis.

The report also criticized what EWG analysts called "over-the-top" marketing claims that they contend would not be allowed under the proposed FDA guidelines.

"There are more than 1 million skin cancers diagnosed in the United States every year," Houlihan says. "Sunscreen is a very important part of sun protection, and it is important that consumers know what they are getting."

Two spokesmen for the sunscreen industry called the EWG claims unfounded and erroneous.

Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) general council Farah Ahmed calls the contention that 7% of high SPF sunscreens do not protect against UVA rays "highly inaccurate."

"It is very clear to me that they have a very low level of understanding of the way sunscreens work and the way they are regulated by the FDA and tested by the industry," Ahmed tells WebMD.

Personal Care Products Council chief scientist John Bailey, PhD, says sunscreens are both safe and effective and highly regulated by the FDA.

Bailey noted that the agency already has the authority to bring action against any manufacturer that makes unsubstantiated claims about a sunscreen.

"The contention that (sunscreens) are too loosely or ineffectively regulated is just not true," he tells WebMD.

Bailey also strongly disagrees with the suggestion in the EWG report that the FDA is moving too slowly on its promised sunscreen label changes.

"The idea that FDA is somehow in cahoots with the industry and that we have fought to delay the process is inaccurate," he says. "The agency has received thousands of comments (on the label change), and they are in the process of reviewing these comments."

Both Bailey and Ahmed expressed concern that the EWG report could cause people to stop using sunscreens.

"I would hate to think that there are parents out there not using sunscreen on their kids because of a report like this that is not based on real science," Ahmed says.

In a statement issued Monday, American Academy of Dermatology President William Hanke, MD, said people should choose a "broad-spectrum" sunscreen as part of an overall sun protection regimen.

"The FDA is currently addressing requirements for UVA coverage in sunscreens and considering sunscreen labeling changes to help the public make knowledgeable decisions about protecting themselves from the danger of the sun," Hanke said. "The American Academy of Dermatology currently awaits the FDA's final ruling."

playlist: a place i'd rather be (hawai'i)

there is a place i'd rather be.

it's somewhere very far away. somewhere that i cannot recall, somewhere that i cannot name.

but somewhere that i know from whence i came. and somewhere that i can still place just the same.

perhaps a different world, perhaps a different life, perhaps a different time, perhaps a place that is still mine.

i think of it now and then, at moments when i'm alone, at moments when i'm lost, at moments when all is lost. at moments when i stand at the precipice and look out upon the abyss and see the face of chaos and hear its roar and feel its power and know the darkness that seeks to consume this world.

at moments when what i need the most is a spark of hope that starts a flame that brings a light that opens day that rests in stillness that finds the serenity that is the truth of eternity lain out all before me like a map to the meaning of the soul. and reminds me that there is good in this world.

there's a place i'd rather be.

it's somewhere very far away. somewhere that i cannot recall, somewhere that i cannot name.

but i know where it will be.

and i know that i can find it.

because, you see, it's in me.

keali'i reichel "kawaipunahele": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIovxJK5rQo

keali'i reichel "maunaleo": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA1xzuP0nkI

keali'i reichel "in my life": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MynGNffwV0g

jake shimabukuro "hula girl": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9iJy5-COAA

kina grannis and david choi "my time with you": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ehcBDfFFc

namakana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkqj4y8WQPc

carl ray villaverde "he'eia": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW5_chAgg8c

note: yeah i know 2 of the groups above aren't really from hawaii or hawaiian. but they involve ukuleles. that and the music fits. so i figure it makes them close enough.

kung fu fighting (everybody was...with videos!)

some of you have been wondering what i've been doing with my cross-over into kung fu, and i guess this is a good time to show you a little bit of what i've been doing (with pics and videos!).

originally, i started martial arts training with the idea that perhaps it might serve as physical therapy, helping me cross-train in different ranges of motion using different muscle groups to improve physical coordination, correct muscular imbalances, ease repetitive motion injuries in connective and skeletal tissue, and give my mind something new from the monotony of miles. i also had the idea that maybe it might actually help me understand what to do in terms of defending myself (if the event ever arises). that, and maybe it would help me learn more about a different culture, particularly for traditional Asian martial arts.

to those ends, i started with a kung fu class here in Los Angeles. i've written a number of blog posts already on the cross-overs i've observed in my time studying kung fu, and you can read what i have under the following posts (admittedly, i've been a little lackadaisical in writing more about it, but hopefully that will change):
http://jonathaninthedistance.blogspot.com/search/label/kung%20fu

this past weekend (August 30-31) was the inaugural Las Vegas Kung Fu Championship Tournament. it was sponsored and organized by a colleague of my kung fu instructor, and so our school organized a group trip to go, with a number of us entered in various categories. i was originally entered into the beginner sparring competition, but had to withdraw since it conflicted with my duties as referee in sword sparring. but i managed to make a number of videos and take some pictures so everyone can see just what a kung fu tournament, and kung fu in general, looks like.

i wrote a lengthy post, with all my pics and videos, on my other blog, and you can check it out:
http://jonathanonapath.blogspot.com/2008/09/day-172-las-vegas-kung-fu-tournament.html

as you can see, it's quite a different world from triathlon, or sports, in general. there's quite a bit of culture and history involved, with traditions that are observed endemic to Chinese history. the videos show a number of traditional and modern styles, from the well-known Shaolin to the modern gymnastic-style wushu. my school is more traditional, and holds to more self-defense related aspects of kung fu, and so not quite as showy or crowd-pleasing as the others.

for anyone interested in seeing more, you can check out my Youtube channel that i use to store videos from my kung fu class:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jonathanonapath

in addition, i conceded to making 1 video of myself doing a form from a kung fu style known as baguazhang. i'm only a beginner, and my instructor says i need a lot of work (apparently, despite the physical coordination that i have from athletics, i still have built up a lot of habits specific to triathlon...which is fine, but not entirely advisable in a martial setting). but you can get a feel for it yourself (and yes, it's on a different Youtube channel that i use for triathlon-related videos):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqzDzQY_9F0

is all this really helping my triathlon? well, the jury is still out. it seems to be, in the sense that i've eliminated a lot of chronic repetitive motion injuries that i had before. but it's been quite a process having my body unlearn and relearn different modes of movement, and there's been an adjustment (talk about soreness!) in utilizing different muscle groups and different joints in different movements. having said this, it has managed to achieve a lot of the original goals i had, so maybe you could say it's an overall success. still, i'm going to continue with it and re-evaluate as time goes along. we'll see.

coming out of retirement

i haven't done a race since Ironman New Zealand.

not a one.

zip.

zilch.

i know. considering all the training i've been doing since then, you'd figure i'd get off my fat lazy rear end and put all the effort to good use and sign up for a race and live out a purpose for all the exercise. as several professors of mine told me at different times in different ways (and in a very different context): there has to be an end point for a journey undertaken (or, to use their academic lingo, there has to be an ontology for the epistemology).

me personally, i've never looked at things with quite such a paradigm.

oh, i've set goals and sought purposes and looked for meanings as much as anyone--in school, work, athletics, traveling, paying bills, looking for places to eat, figuring out what to do on weekends, talking with family and friends and utter strangers off the street, and generally living out the bizarre state that we call life in the absurd context of the profound mystery that is the cosmos and ultimately infinite.

but i've never insisted that everything has a point (again, an ontology). i've entirely recognized that it's entirely possible there is no point. no goal. no purpose. nor meaning. borrowing the biblical tone ascribed to Moses in his conversations with Yahweh on Mt. Sinai, maybe things are just because they are, and nothing more. maybe it was just an act of agnostic chance. or an act of divine curiousity. who knows. nobody knows. at least, i don't know.

in which case, i've been willing to recognize sometimes it's really just about the journey itself. the experiences on the way. the things that happen. the discoveries you make. the lessons you learn. the memories and objects and people and animals and earth and sky and water and tastes and touch and sounds and smells and sights and insights and thoughts you accumulate as you go.

all of it. all of it in and of itself. and your self. the self. you. as much a part of everything around you as you go.

which means that the journey is really about you. and discovering and learning not just about the world and life and all that is within and without it. but about you. and what it means--what it truly means--for you to be alive.

so i've been living.

and taking a journey.

and in the past few months there's been quite some changes in my life. and i suspect that there's going to be quite some more. and it's given me more than enough to deal with to occupy my time and energy. enough that i haven't even been able to think about doing a race, and been very much content to hold to my training routine.

but having said all this, it looks like i'm coming out of retirement.

my friends and i do a charity race every year: the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. it raises money for the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation. we use the race as an excuse for us to hold an annual reunion and catch up on each other's lives (since most of us are now living all over the country). that, and it's for a good cause.

i had originally not planned on doing the race this year. to focus on my career and save money in a tight job market (and yes, even for those of us looking for a tenure-track academic job, the job market is still tight). but my friends insisted on all of us doing this race, and shelled out the money for my entry fee, and for good measure actually went ahead and submitted a race registration on my behalf.

so it looks like i'm going to have a race after all.

and i guess my journey continues.

birthday (body) fat

well...it's my birthday. and a big one.

and to mark the chronological milestone i figured to match it with a physical one--even though today is about neither, but really instead about a mental one.

i once had a coach who argued you could tell a lot about a person's character and mental state from their body. he asserted that the body and mind were one, and that each reflected the other.

he didn't mean this in a metaphysical good-versus-evil sense, but more from a practical, performance-driven angle. he never suggested that good guys had one body type and bad guys another--that just doesn't happen. instead, he said things like a fat, chubby body was indicative of an undisciplined, unfocused, careless mind, using the reasoning that staying on a training and nutrition plan necessary for a lean, athletic physique required discipline, focus, and care, and therefore anyone who lacked those qualities would tend to stray from the plan and subsequently expand into corpulescence. similarly, he'd also point out that people under emotional and mental stress tend to use food as a coping device, and would also put less effort into exercise, suggesting that any sudden increase in body fat indicated a mind experiencing excess stress.

this was relevant to him, because he believed that physical performance was a function of both a well-developed body and a well-developed mind. it was because of this that he would periodically have us check our body fat percentages and review our overall body proportions, on the belief that our bodies would show just where we were mentally. uttering maxims like "a lazy body means a lazy mind" and "your body can't hide who you are" and "the truth is in the fat" or--and the one i remember the most every time i wake up in the morning and get ready to shower: "the mirror does not lie."

i used to look back on this with a certain level of reservation. while it had a certain logic, i always discounted it with a self-enlightened air, reminding myself that the obsession with body fat and body proportions was probably responsible for so many athletes developing subconscious eating disorders, and therefore something negative that needed to be ignored for the sake of greater health.

thing is, i'm not so sure anymore. at least, i'm no longer thinking it's such a black-and-white, good-and-bad, yes-or-no situation anymore.

my time in endurance sports, particularly with Ironman, has been a journey of great personal introspection, contemplation, and discovery. while i never meant it to be this way, i've found that it's become a vehicle for personal development, bringing about changes in me intellectually, emotionally, and even spiritually--and these changes have matched, and even exceeded, the changes that have taken place in me physically.

a lot of it, i know, has coincided with major changes in my life, changes that encompassed school and career and family and friends and the larger world that spurred a great deal of re-evaluation and deep reflection about the state of living and existence. but an equal part of it--perhaps a greater part of it--i believe has been the demands made by the distance. you just can't undertake the amount and intensity of training required for Ironman without it affecting you in some way...you certainly can't do an Ironman without it changing you forever. the commitment, the dedication, the suffering, the sacrifice exceeds anything most people have or will ever experience. no matter how good a shape you thought you were in before, it's nothing compared to the kind of shape you need to be in, and will be in, for Ironman.

and so in my odyssey through the distance, i've gradually seen my body evolve, change, transform from a bulky, clumsy exterior to a lean, smooth one, as the onslaught of miles demanded the shedding of useless deadweight in inverse correlation to an expansion in needed physical capacities. and the exterior changes have been matched by internal ones: with the passage of each mile, i've found myself being stripped of emotional and spiritual baggage, forced to relinquish burdens, pared of useless waste, so that there were no more delusions and distractions and artifice and pretensions and lies and half-truths and denials and ignorance...so, in short, that there was no more bullshit. so that what was left was the base essentials driving who i was and what i am and where i was going and, above all, why. so that i could see clearly (or clearly enough) to come to my senses and gain perspective and find myself and thereby finally begin to discover, with the awareness that can only come from the purity of that most necessary, the fundamental truths of life and living and all creation, in the silence of things significant and the realization of things profound.

as a result, i've started to come back a bit to my coach's beliefs, albeit from a slightly different angle. he looked to the body as a sign of discipline, focus, and care to competition and performance. but i look at this is just a pointer to something more: i look to the body as a sign of discipline, focus, and care to identity and being, with competition and performance just being vehicles for the spirit and the soul. this is in essence the ascetic tradition, holding that personal development involves both body and mind, so that the whole being is prepared and unified and thereby enabled to learn of the greater mysteries that lie beyond both.

it was because of this that i decided to mark this birthday with a goal of reaching 5-6% bodyfat--the magic numbers espoused by my coach as the target for all competitive athletes, since they constituted the barrier above which sports science considered useless deadweight and below which medical science considered inadequate for necessary biochemical processes. it's also a number that i never hit, neither my time under him nor my time ever since then. not even in my time in endurance sports.

so i chose that number out memory for him and his beliefs, but also as a target to help denote what i consider to be a milestone not just in age but in my own personal development...basically, a milestone in who i am.

towards that end, i've spent the past months since Ironman New Zealand in steady training, holding to a steady diet of workouts and nutrition, trying to get back to where i was a year ago, if not a little farther.

at IMNZ, for various reasons, i was not in a healthy state of mind, and i think you can see it in the photos of my body at the time:
i was a little overweight, despite all the training. and as much as i hate to admit it, i pretty much had fallen into the traps my coach had always warned me about: with all the (non-race) stress i was under then, i was eating more and working out less than i should have. and i very much was struggling with discipline, and focus, and care. in fact, i didn't even really care about at all--the race, the place, or even me. it shows. i was at 9% bodyfat. i'm kind of ashamed of what i looked like then.

it's been a number of months since then. there's been some trials. some good, some bad. a lot changes. a lot of transition. and a lot of thinking and introspection and contemplation. and all of it with the aid of the distance. i'm starting to feel in a better state of mind, and i think it's starting to show:
yeah i know, i'm just goofing around. but i did hit my target. my bodyfat now measures exactly 5%. that's right, 5%. i've hit the target my coach always wanted me to hit but never was able to. but it's a target that's not just a number. it's not what he thought it was.

because for me, that number is not just about the body and what that body can do. it's about what that number represents. and for me, that number represents everything that's happened to me in endurance sports. in the distance, with the distance, because of the distance. the passage of the miles that have wrought so many changes in my mind and my heart and my spirit and my soul. the journey that has released me from self-destructive deadweight of unessential burdens. the path that has enabled me to discover the empowerment of deeper truths. the odyssey that has led me to find myself and my God...or at least as much as anyone can hope to begin to know.

triathlon as a team sport? not for Ironman.

hmmmmmmm...i don't know about this:

• http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=735022&p=1

if the link doesn't work, i've put the full text of the article at the end of this post.

this is an article from a Canadian newspaper, and goes into detail about how the Canadians used a team approach to the triathlon event at this past Beijing Olympics. essentially, Canadian favorite Simon Whitfield, who is a former Olympic champion and was a strong contender for gold in this year's Olympics, was accompanied by another Canadian competitor, Colin Jenkins, whose only role was to serve as a "domestique."

those of you familiar with cycling know that a "domestique" is someone on a team who is not expected to win--nor will be allowed to--but is instead expected to help the team leader to succeed by (among other things) chasing down breakaways, opening riding lanes, and creating drafting lanes.

the latter is perhaps the biggest duty, since it allows the team leader to stay relatively rested while still remaining in contention for the final push to the finish. at the speeds cyclists go, wind resistance can consume as much as 30-40% of a competitor's energy output, so any relief that can be gained from drafting offers a huge aid.

similarly, in swimming, where water is such a high-density medium, drag resistance also consumes a major portion of energy output. which is why open-water swimmers frequently engage in drafting behind other swimmers to save themselves for the finish.

thing is, i'm really not sold on this as part of the sport.

on one hand, i can see 3 arguments supporting team-work:

• there's drafting in all of the individual sports involved in triathlon, so it's entirely consistent that triathlon--which combines all 3--also allow team-work. open-water swimming allows it. cycling allows it. even distance running, which is often perceived as an individualist event, features constant drafting. particularly in events like the 10,000 meters or marathon, you often see runners staying in a main pack and exchanging roles at the front, with the aim of race favorites to save energy by drafting behind the leaders until the final sprint to the finish. it happened at this past Beijing Olympics, which even showed men's and women's marathon leaders involved in team-work, with the Chinese women helping each other and the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners working together.
• the article is right, there is a trend towards triathlon teams. professionally, you see teams becoming organized by sponsors, with examples like Team Timex or Team Tri-Dubai. collegiately, it's always been teams organized by individual schools. traditionally, the team approach was related to training and logistical support, but the trend is to now carry it into race day.
• the rules allow it. at least in ITU (International Triathlon Union). and so long as the rules are set up to allow it, athletes will interpret them in any way possible to maximize their chances of winning.
  

but despite all these arguments, i still am a purist. to me, triathlon has always been more than just a competitive sporting event. following its origins in Hawaii and San Diego, i have always held to the principles that existed at the sport's inception: self-improvement, self-exploration, self-enlightenment, self-empowerment. all of these things point to an individualist spirit, with a competitor undergoing training and race day engaged in a journey going as much within themselves as it is going without in the world.

this may be my preference for Ironman talking. Ironman rules are different. drafting is not allowed, thereby effectively negating the major reason for race day team-work and confining team approaches to training and logistics. the World Triathlon Corporation, which runs Ironman internationally, holds to the fundamental vision that spurred then-Navy Commander John Collins to hold Ironman in 1978: an individual trial of endurance, with you facing only the elements and the clock, with the goal of you overcoming your own hurdles. the philosophy is entirely individualistic.

yeah, i know, all this meta-physical touchy-feely introspective spiritual mumbo-jumbo is just ethereal contemplation in a world full of realities and driven by profit-based motives. and given that choice, the sporting world is going to choose the latter, since the sport is a business based on audience revenue and thereby in need of spectator-friendly drama. and one of the most spectator-friendly dramas is the constant battle of competitors in a pack, playing out their tactics over the course of a race, setting themselves up for a final climactic showdown at the finish line. it plays to the human cultural traditions of theater maintained since the dawn of human civilization, and works with our natural desires for what we want in a spectacle: the increasingly intense conflict of point-counterpoint leading to a peak that produces a determinative conclusion.

compared to this, the introspection of an individualist trial-by-fire is utterly boring, and offers nothing for spectators--and the business based on them--to watch.

still, i hold to this: on some level, it's not about a business. in some ways, it never was. Ironman didn't start out as a business. it was meant to be about the athlete facing themselves, alone, stripped of all lies and pretensions and distractions and sycophants and seductions and illusions, so that there is nothing left but truth. and through that truth, the athlete is able to gain a greater understanding--of themselves, the world, the universe, god(s), eternity, and the state of creation and the meaning of it all. and through such understanding, the athlete can become something better than they were before--as a competitor and as a human being.

triathlon, at least for Ironman, was meant to be a transformative experience. meaning it is meta-physical, it is introspective, it is spiritual. even if touchy-feely mumbo-jumbo. it still is.

which i guess is why Ironman races are so unique. because even though they now have a professional circuit, and even though they have prize money, and even though they have sponsors, they are unlike any other triathlon, and unlike any other sporting event, anyone will ever get to see. in Ironman, professionals regularly stay to watch the amateurs finish, professionals regularly mingle with amateurs before and during and after competition, professionals regularly follow the individual stories of amateurs played out on every race day.

you see, it's because they know. they know Ironman is a transformative event. they know what Ironman was and is and will always be about. and they respect it, and they've decided that this is what they still want.

is it wrong to be a business? no. it's a necessity. is it disrespectful to the origins of the sport? no. things change. it's a choice, as much as anything in life is a choice.

but is it what people want? is it what people need? in a world of the profane, the unholy, the obscene, the filth and misery and cruelty and suffering and despair and desperation and darkness? in world that needs to be shown, to be given, to be made into something better?

to me, that's the real question. and given the choice between ITU team-work and Ironman individualism, i know where i'm going to find the answer.

'Within The Rules'
Canadian tactics change triathlon into a team sport
Zosia Bielski
National Post
Wednesday, August 20, 2008

With a silver-medal win in the men's triathlon yesterday, Canadians have set in motion the evolution of the sport from an individual event into a team one.

Borrowing tactics from the Tour de France, Triathlon Canada and silver medallist Simon Whitfield have effectively reinvented the sport -- with winning results.

Mr. Whitfield, 33, used a 25-year-old Canadian non-contender as a "domestique" who saved him energy during the cycling stretch of the race.

Triathlon purists -- those who believe the sport has always been lone wolf in nature -- have criticized the controversial move.

But Triathlon Canada officials say the sport has been shifting toward a team direction and Canada just capitalized on it first.

"Our goal is medals, not just to show up and be good Canadians. It's a change in the paradigm. It's a culture shift. ... Why not be the first ones to get out and do it and make everyone react to us?" said Alan Trivett, Triathlon Canada's executive director. "We played within the rules."

The triathlon involves a 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-kilometre bike ride and 10-kilometre run, and generally takes athletes less than two hours to complete.

Mr. Whitfield, a Kingston native who now lives in Victoria, last won a gold eight years ago in Sydney, then fell to an 11th place finish in Athens.

Upon Mr. Whitfield's request in June, officials at Triathlon Canada drafted Colin Jenkins from Hamilton to serve as his training partner. They picked Mr. Jenkins-- who did not qualify for the Olympics -- over higher-ranking athletes because he is a strong swimmer and cyclist, a perfect "domestique" for Mr. Whitfield.

Yesterday, the team tactics panned out for Canada.

During the race's 40-kilometre cycling leg, Mr. Jenkins battled it out at the front of the pack, chasing breakaways and allowing Mr. Whitfield to ride in his draft and save energy for his run.

After the bike leg, Mr. Jenkins placed fourth, while Mr. Whitfield sat in 12th, relatively rested up for his run.

During the run, Mr. Whitfield dropped back in the final kilometre before sprinting past the sport's current top three -- Bevan Docherty of New Zealand, Javier Gomez of Spain and Germany's Jan Frodeno.

He was ultimately overtaken by the German in the last 30 metres.

After the race, Mr. Whitfield split his $15,000 silver medal bonus with Mr. Jenkins and vehemently defended his push for a domestique.

"I believe it's the evolution of our sport, and you're going to see more and more countries do it. And it worked spectacularly today. [Mr. Jenkins] was spectacular today.

"The communication was spectacular," said Mr. Whitfield, who intends to compete in the 2012 Games in London.

"It took courage to say that we wanted to do this, and we took criticism.... I got called arrogant, and I got called cocky ... and I said, 'Wait a minute. I thought you wanted to win,' " Mr. Whitfield said.

Mr. Jenkins finished in 50th place -- dead last among those who finished the race-- but treated Mr. Whitfield's victory as his own.

"I didn't really care about the rest of my race. I actually stopped and yelled at Simon as he ran by, it was so exciting," said Mr. Jenkins, who had not run in six weeks after being hit by a car.

That was not a problem: Mr. Jenkins admitted he had not trained to win a medal. He also denied that Mr. Whitfield was doing it for himself.

"It's evolving into a team sport.... A medal for the country -- come on, what more can you ask for, seriously?"

Although they admit it may be the only way to the podium, triathlon purists are criticizing the team tactics.

"I think there's going to be a lot of dissension with all this," said Kevin Mackinnon, who competed nationally from 1985 to 1993 and now edits Triathlon Magazine Canada.

Two decades ago, he opposed drafting, saying it would turn triathlon racing into a team sport.

"If the goal is to get a gold medal and that's where Olympics have gone, yeah, this is a great move. I got into the sport for the individual thing but as soon as you allow drafting, that changes the playing field completely."

He said that now, recruiting domestiques such as Mr. Jenkins could sour the sport for traditional triathletes who want to compete, not help the top dog.

He pointed to Paul Tichelaar, a 27-year-old from Edmonton who qualified for the Olympics and finished in 28th place yesterday. Ranked sixth in the world, Mr. Tichelaar declined to participate in the new team mentality.

"I think Paul has always made it abundantly clear he's not crazy about this whole thing and I can see where he's coming from. Simon just outsprinted him at the world [championships] in June, so he feels like he can compete with Simon. Now all of a sudden you're saying, 'Hey, you know the guy that you were neck and neck with 100 metres before the finish line at worlds? Now we don't want you to race him anymore, now we want you to help him.'"

Mr. Trivett said Mr. Tichelaar was released from any obligation to race as a team.

"He could race however he chose yesterday," Mr. Trivett said. "We wanted him to be a part of the team and his heart really wasn't in it. It didn't appear that he was really buying into the process, because while I don't believe it's controversial, it's not a guarantee."

Mr. Mackinnon also said more higher-ranking athletes -- such as Brent McMahon -- might be excluded with a Triathlon Canada system that favours domestiques.

The 27-year-old from Kelowna, B. C., was not invited by Triathlon Canada largely because he runs better than he swims, Mr. Mackinnon said.

"What we're now going to start seeing more and more in the sport is people who are swim-bike specialists whose sole job is to get a fast runner to the finish line, or to the start of the run in the best possible shape. It's absolutely no different than the Tour de France, the domestiques hauling their team leaders and making sure everything's taken care of until the big sprint."