initial rest (training notes 10/12/07)

well, there should have been training notes for each of the past 3 weeks, since i'd technically started training for IMNZ 2008 then. but it's been busy, so i kind of slacked on the training notes part.

besides, it's not there was a lot to say--i mean, all i had was "workouts started, i'm tired, i'm sore, i'm hungry, and i'm huffing and puffing like a fat overweight cow lumbering up the hill to get back to the barn." what else is there to add?

this past week was a recovery week, with reduced training volume and reduced intensities. i'd almost forgotten to take it, but then courtesy of my increasingly trusty Google Training google calendar, i suddenly realized that i was starting to stretch the build cycle--and in any training plan, this is not a good idea. it certainly explains why i'd been feeling so beat down.

of course, i had to fight the urges to continue ramping up the workouts. they always warn you about this in training. your mindset tends to keep driving for increased workouts, because of neurosis or paranoia or endorphic addiction (or maybe all 3), even though you're feeling exhausted and you're well aware your body needs to rest.

but i forced myself to take some extra time this past week to ease off. which was just as well, since i used that time to make some progress on my dissertation (the deadline to submit to my advisor is fast approaching), and i could tell that my lower back muscles were in dire need of recovery (you ever get that feeling that your muscles are on the verge of breaking down? yeah, it was just like that).

i wanted to take time yesterday (Saturday) to watch the Ironman World Championships in Kona, especially since i know 2 people who were there. but i had kung fu, and then i had chores (groceries, gas, etc.). so i have no idea what happened. i'm waiting until they show it on repeat.

but all things good. still a little sore. but i guess that's to be expected. i start build weeks again, so fun fun fun.

A Message for Kona

I wrote something about this some time ago (reference: eddie would go), but I feel compelled to re-write it again for matters of pressing relevance.

This post is directed for those competitors presently preparing for the Ironman World Championships in Kona. I know at least 2 of them well, 1 a pro and another a freakish elite age grouper (names are withheld to protect their innocence...but good luck, guys!).

I myself am not doing Kona--I'm not that good, and likely never will be. But I do know something about Hawaii, and about Asian-Pacific-Islander traditions, enough to be sensitive to cultural issues. After hearing about some of the controversial cultural faux pas that have occurred at Kona in recent years, I figured I should do my part and try to offer anyone there something to help ease over any possible unintended offenses to native traditions and sensibilities.

There are many important aspects of native Hawaiian culture that are relevant to competitors going to Kona. But rather than devolve into a cursory overview of a random selection of them, I figure it'd be more in keeping with Hawaiian tradition to focus instead on providing something that would convey a sense of the Hawaiian spirit, and the mana (or spiritual power, reference: Wikipedia: Mana) that is so central to it.

One of the best--or at least most popular--stories demonstrating the Hawaiian spirit is the story of Eddie Aikau. It's become a special part of Hawaiian lore, because it's real, and occurred within the living memory of most islanders. It's also special because it resonates with ancient traditions, and so reminds many Hawaiians of the continuing relevance of their past.

Eddie Aikau was not originally a particularly auspicious personality. Born in 1946 on the island of Maui, he grew to become a high school dropout, and developed a dubious reputation of being an aimless slacker. Apart from an interest in surfing acquired from his father, he had no apparent ambition and no apparent motivation to improve himself.

Everything changed, however, in the winter of 1967. That winter, the legendary North Shore of Waimea Bay experienced one of the greatest seasons in big wave surfing. At the start of the annual big wave season, Eddie appeared as an unknown visitor, and proceeded to stun the assembled crowd of professionals by charging fearlessly down waves measuring as much as 40 feet.

That day, the Eddie's life seemed to finally begin. He went on to win a string of big wave championships, including the prestigious Duke Kahanamoku Invitational in 1977, earning a reputation of being among the hardest chargers the world of big wave surfing had ever seen.
His courage carried him to also become the first lifeguard of Hawaii's North Shore--one of the most dangerous surf spots in the world--where in 1971 he was honored as Lifeguard of the Year.

As Eddie advanced professionally, he also began to mature personally. In an effort to rise above the personal demons of his youth and resolve what he felt were lingering issues in his life, he sought to explore his native Hawaiian heritage. This exploration intensified following the death of his brother Gerald in Vietnam. In time, he became a leader in the Hawaiian Renaissance movement (reference: Wikipedia: Hawaiian Renaissance), which sought to restore genuine Hawaiian culture in the face of dilution from modern society and "tourist" marketing.

In 1978, Eddie joined the Polynesian Voyaging Society expedition (reference: Wikipedia: Polynesian Voyaging Society), which sought to confirm and re-establish Hawaii's heritage of seafaring navigation by launching a traditional 2-hull canoe and sailing 2,500 miles to Tahiti using traditional Hawaiian navigation techniques and ancient Polynesian sailing routes. However, roughly 12 miles south of Molokai, the boat became caught in a freak storm and capsized, miles from any traffic lanes.

Eddie, in response to the situation, repeatedly volunteered to unleash his surfboard from the canoe and paddle to Lanai to find help. He believed that he had the strength to make the distance, and that he had a spiritual connection to the ocean that would protect him. The expedition's leader denied his requests. Finally, on Eddie's 3rd request, he relented. Eddie promptly mounted his surfboard and began paddling through the storm.

He was never seen again.

Hours later, the boat crew was rescued when a passing plane spotted them in the water. Immediately after, Hawaii launched the largest air and sea rescue effort in its history to find Eddie.

But he had been lost to the sea.

His family, along with the native Hawaiian community, later said that consistent with his spiritual beliefs, Eddie had been called by elements of nature, and his heart had been returned to the sea and his soul restored to the mana of the earth.

In the years since his disappearance, the story of Eddie Aikau has become a legend, and the legend a modern myth. His name is now a part of Hawaiian lore, and is used as a mantra for courage and power by islanders from all walks of life. Now, throughout Hawaii, whenever a challenge arises, whenever someone finds themself facing dire conditions, whenever a person is seized by the sudden paroxysm of fear produced by the sight of the awesome face of danger, people will look at each other, and nod in determination, and say: "Eddie would go."

Triathlon, particularly Ironman, traces part of its origins to Hawaii. Ironman began in Oahu, and grew into international prominence on the Kona Coast of the island of Hawai'i. In honor of Ironman's Hawaiian roots, competitors to Kona would do well call upon Eddie's memory.

Eddie's story reflects Hawaii's culture of spiritual reverence, and his life holds lessons for anyone regarding Hawaiian values for living. Eddie, in other words, is Hawaii. Eddie was about faith in the divine and devotion to heritage. He was also about courage and a connection to the mana of the natural world. These are the kind of things of particular relevance for anyone doing Ironman, especially in Hawaii.

So to those of you at Kona, remember that whenever you're seized by fear at the start of a swim wave, reflect on the meaning of the words: Eddie would go.

Whenever you're numb pondering the prospect of the bike ride, remind yourself: Eddie would go.

Whenever you're staggering, and wondering if you should even begin the run, tell yourself: Eddie would go.

No matter what the conditions, no matter how tough the terrain, no matter how tough things get, no matter the challenge, commit it to yourself: Eddie would go.

In the name of Ironman, just remember: EDDIE WOULD GO.

the training log

i used to think that a training log was something reserved for professional or elite athletes. since i was neither, i figured that a training log represented an exorbitant amount of record-keeping out of proportion to any value gained from knowing workout patterns. if anything, it seemed more like an act of obsessive-compulsive neurosis.

to me, i always trusted to simply find and follow whatever available training schedules were available (or that i could find). to that end, i borrowed plans from sources like Slowtwitch, Trifuel, Joe Friel's Going Long, or Gail Bernhardt's Training Plans for Multi-Sport Athletes (all of which, by the way, i highly recommend, not just for training plans, but for training and racing in general).

but as went further into this sport, i ran across a number of issues:

• lifestyle--training plans assume a certain allocation of time, and my lifestyle just simply did not allow for those kinds of allocations. specifically, i found myself juggling doctoral research, teaching classes, working 2 on-campus jobs, sitting on university committees, holding a leadership position with USC Triathlon, and pursuing my own writing career (of which, by the way, this blog is a part). between all this, i found it difficult to find the blocks of time prescribed by the training plans i was finding.
• body--my body just simply did not respond to training plans. training plans are meant to be universal. but people's bodies are not. i'd received warnings from coaches and fellow athletes about the nature of following generic plans made without any personal (i.e., individual) athlete-coach interaction, but i'd ignored them. i ended up learning the hard way that my body doesn't recover or progress in ways compatible with so many training plans on the market.
• interests--triathlon was never my only physical avocation. swimming, biking, and running may seem like a full plate of physical activity for most people, but there were other things i wanted to do. in particular, i enjoy surfing, and i also enjoy kung fu. yeah, i know, they're the kind of activities that most people would snigger about as being a California thing. but whatever. they were things i wanted to give time to, and that meant taking time away from triathlon.
  

because of these problems, i've ended up having to abandon any notion of following generic training plans, instead tailoring my own. i've cobbled together schedules using input from coaches, athletes, books, videos, magazines, and websites. i've also had to do quite a bit of experimentation, trying to figure out just how i can fit in triathlon training with everything in my life.

i have to say it's been quite an adventure, and i'm still in the process of figuring it out. the results so far have been mixed--i've accomplished my goal of becoming an Ironman, but not with the times i had hoped for...or which other people had predicted for me based on my training. in addition, training isn't quite as smooth as it is for so many other people i talk to, and it seems that i have to struggle quite a bit more than most with issues of soreness and exhaustion.

designing your own training plan requires a lot of work. sure, you can know principles about training (periodization, base v build, recovery, nutrition, etc.), but it's another thing entirely trying to incorporate everything into a logical schedule progressing to Ironman performance. it requires diligence, and so mandates use of a detailed training log to lay out--and then track--workouts to ensure that the training is fulfills its objectives...and avoids mistakes.

to this end, i've become quite a bit more dedicated to maintaining a training log than i did just a few years ago. i'm putting in more detail, putting in time, intensity, nature of terrain (i.e., pool v ocean, road v path, track v trail) and specific workout plan (i.e., steady v intervals, what kind of steady, what kind of intervals, etc.), whereas before i would have just put in time and intensity.

i'm using Google Calendar. there are alternatives, but they either didn't have the flexibility i was seeking or they charged money that i don't have as a student. Google Calendar isn't fancy, but it lets me do what i want: mark out my workouts in a quick, easy-to-read format, with the option of readily accessible details for further information.

i haven't gotten so far as to inputting calories and nutritional breakdown, or creating graphs, but i figured that (so far) i don't really need them--although i know that if i do, i'll have to find another method.

you can see my training log by clicking on the "Google Training" button--there is no such thing, but i "modified" the Google Calendar button to better reflect that i'm using it as a training log. you can also reference: http://www.google.com/calendar/render

you can see how i'm integrating all my physical avocations. i haven't been doing much surfing lately (i hate to go surfing alone, but so far just haven't been able to find anybody else to go with me at the times i have available). but you can see my training plan, complete with swim, bike, and run workouts fitted in with kung fu classes and practice sessions.

not that this will be anybody's motivation for checking in this blog. but at least you can follow along with my training, and see how the posts relate to my training schedule.

in addition, i've "officially" (at least in my own training calendar) started training for Ironman New Zealand 2008 as of October 1, so you can now see how i'm progressing from the very beginning. the plan, as it is with every Ironman i do, is to write up a weekly report (usually every weekend) of notes and thoughts about training over the previous week. you can reference the Google Training calendar to match up my weekly reports with the workouts in my training log.

feel free to offer up comments or advice.

the saffron revolution

i'm including 3 very, very special pictures with this post. i'm putting the 1st one above, the 2nd one in the middle, and the 3rd one at the end.

these photos are special because i think they illustrate a life lesson that we sometimes forget: the power of an idea.

ideas are a funny thing.

by themselves, ideas are nothing. they're just thoughts. figments of the imagination, products of contemplation. at the most, they become words and images spoken or written, to be spread between people and shared from one soul to another. sometimes with reverence, sometimes with none. they're just ethereal; nothing corporeal. just statements of wishes, hopes, and dreams. of how things should be, of what they can become...and what is this, what can it become, in the face of how things are?

but for all this, ideas still arouse the human spirit to supreme acts of passion. for some, they inspire fear, and loathing, and revulsion, or disgust, and motivate the person to behavior that borders--and sometimes exceeds--all notions of humanity and grace. for others, they inspire something quite the opposite: aspiration, adoration, animation, exhilaration, to an extent that can reach even so far as to the supreme act of human devotion. the extremes engendered are striking: cruelty versus kindness, brutality versus compassion.

ideas are a funny thing.

it's a wonder that there are those who are so afraid of them. so afraid that they would be willing to kill to see them gone...and spare no energy nor material nor time nor thought nor mercy nor moment of reflection to descend to whatever depths of darkness exist in this world to ensure that the utterance of such ideas are never heard or seen again on this earth.

it is even more of a wonder that, in the face of such darkness, there are still those who remain so faithful to them. so much so that they would endure any privation, withstand any onslaught, accept any suffering, to do nothing more than to repeat them as mantras again and again and again, and to do so with behavior that ascends in accordance with the greatest ideals of God's creation and the beauty of how life should be, so that such ideas--as insubstantial and insignificant as they are--can somehow can find their place upon the earth...even in full knowledge of the vast array of the forces arrayed against them, and in deep awareness of the consequences that may come.

ideas are a funny thing.
as Ironman athletes, we believe and then live within the power of ideas, particularly one idea: that anything is possible. we teach ourselves, then endeavor to exemplify, and later to demonstrate and then pass on to others, the idea that there is no challenge, there is no obstacle, there is no force great enough to stop the human spirit once it has set itself upon a course of action and dedicated itself to seeing its completion. we constantly stress, to ourselves and to the world around us, that nothing is impossible.

but we should know that the lesson we learn and also give is not a lesson that is ours alone. it is not a secret hidden within the mysteries of the universe. it is not a truth unknown to the human mind. our lesson is an idea, and so is something shared by all humanity, in a way as simple and graceful and beautiful and sublime as one person exchanging words with another.

we use an idea to carry ourselves through training regimes that cause others to quaver, and to lift ourselves to race distances deemed by many as unimaginable. we do this to inspire those around us, so that they, just as much as we, can improve their lives.

but there are others in this world who use an idea for things far greater: to confront the nature of evil and the full visage of its horror. they do this to change the hearts and souls and minds of the world held within its grasp, and to expand the confines of human imagination and human expectations beyond it, so that the suffering may witness more than just suffering and the weak may experience more than just oppression and the hungry may know more than just hunger and the forlorn know may more than just despair.

we use an idea to show what the world can be; they use it so that the world may yet know light. we use an idea to simply overcome the distance of a day; they use it to overcome a darkness that knows not time.

for all this, we are the same people. because we share the same idea, and we hope to make the world a better place.

this is the lesson we need to remember: ideas have power. they have the power to make change. not just in our lives, not just for ourselves, not just for even the people around us, but for the world as a whole. no matter the dangers that may face us.

there are always those who say this will not, cannot, must not happen. and they will do everything they can to stop ideas in ways most abhorrently profane.

but ideas do not die. they cannot die, even though people may die. this is because ideas, through us, are more than just expressions of imagination; they are manifestations of aspirations guiding us through all the long journeys in all the darkness of all the world.

always, through our actions, ideas can become truths made known as lessons then shared. sometimes, however, in the supreme moments when those actions rise to sublime heights of sacrifice and devotion, ideas can transcend the mere mortal to become faithful supplications to the divine, and in so doing become vested with a power most sacred that gives life to where there is none, so that there may be light in this, this that we can only begin to know as God's creation.

an idea has power. all we are doing is relaying it, so that it may have life--even as others do not.

endurance sports and kung fu (part 5) - functional strength and flexibility (angles and range of motion)

the majority of my previous posts regarding endurance sports and kung fu have attempted to present my observations regarding similarities and differences between the 2 areas, and the ways in which they could complement one another.

for this post on functional strength and flexibility, however, i decided to just focus in terms of how kung fu helps with endurance sports--largely because that's how i see it; i don't (or so far have not) seen much in the opposite direction. in fact, i've been finding that my functional strength and flexibility in endurance sports has been getting a whole lot more from kung fu than vice versa. if anything, kung fu training actually seems to be rectifying all the problems associated with (or caused by) endurance sports.

as i've mentioned elsewhere, endurance sports--especially when dealing with longer distances--is an exercise in repetitive motion injuries; it's never a question of if you will get them, it's when. and every season generates its own crop of nagging aches and pains.

as a means of preventing these problems, there's been growing support for "functional strength" or "functional flexibility" training. these terms tend to deal with theories arguing that currently dominant modes of training, rather than building the body's capabilities (and hence resistance to repetitive motion injuries), instead serve to create systemic imbalances in muscles, bones, joints, and connective tissue (and thereby create stresses that actually encourage repetitive motion injuries). in effect, current training methods are not allowing athletes to "function" at an optimum state for athletic performance.

functional strength and functional flexibility training espouses that a more effective training approach is to involve athletes in methods that build the body's capabilities in a performance-based setting, so that the training gains help the athlete's ability to "function" for athletic performance.

examples of the dominant paradigm of training include static, non-dynamic weightlifting and high-volume (either in effort or repetition) practices. examples of functional strength and flexibility training include new routines involving inflated plastic balls, balance pads, and elastic cable work.

you can see a sample of relevant websites on functional strength and flexibility training:

• Ace Fitness: http://www.acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitnessqa_display.aspx?itemid=285
• Suite 101: Functional Strength Training: http://strengthtraining.suite101.com/article.cfm/functional_strength_training
• Suite 101: Train Movements or Muscles?: http://strengthtraining.suite101.com/article.cfm/train_movements_or_muscles
• NASM Newsletter: https://secure.nasm.org/members/newsletter/February_2002.htm

the concepts and methods of functional strength and flexibility training are spreading to triathlon. just like other areas of sport, they're being touted as means to improve athletic performance and prevent injury. you can check out a sample:

• Trifuel: Functional Strength Training for Triathletes
• Peaks Coaching Group: A Comprehensive Approach to Strength Training
• Tdottriathlon: Get a Leg Up On the Competition
  

the last article is the relevant one for the purposes of this post. while it deals with the advantages of single-leg exercises, it refers to a lot of concepts and ideas regarding the notions driving functional strength and flexibility training.

in particular, it points out that the purpose of such training is to enhance physical performance of the body, which in sports requires physical motion across a broad spectrum of movements in a wide variety of scenarios. this means improvement of body mechanics in dynamic, unpredictable settings, with muscles, bones, joints, and connective tissue operating through differing angles, multiple planes of action, and ranges of motion.

i've excerpted a couple of specific sections, and bold-faced what i thought were the most important:

When looking at lower body biomechanics in endurance-based sports, we can easily see that much of the time force production is being generated by a single leg. Both running and cycling are skills requiring force generation in this manner. Our operational environment compounds this independent nature of lower body endurance sport mechanics. By operational environment I mean, physical laws such as inertia, momentum and impulse, which are minimized in traditional strength training. These components must also be dealt with throughout 360 degrees of freedom and must be taken into consideration if we want to perform optimally.

Since we know that specificity of training is the driving principle behind performance enhancement methodology, it would only make sense to take into consideration the simple observations discussed previously. If most of the force generation in endurance sports involves unilaterally biased lower extremity positions (one leg at a time), multiple joints, dynamic and multi-planar stabilization, and ground based force production, shouldn’t these be the driving principles behind lower body strength development?

and further:

Looking at the kinetic chain in action allows us to see how ground reaction forces are transmitted through the lower body and the core to facilitate fast and powerful movements. The various body angles that result from the manipulation of momentum require that the endurance athlete be able to produce force on a single leg concentrically, isometrically and, most importantly, eccentrically. The dynamic multi-planar environment of endurance sports also demands that a single leg apply the force in a proprioceptively driven manner. In plain English now, the ground-based leg has to control forces while the joint angles in the leg are continuously changing in all three planes of motion. This type of lower body training is rarely addressed in traditional strength training methodology. Instead, this type of work is usually limited to rehabilitative applications.

So what does all this technical mumbo-jumbo mean to the endurance athlete? It means that single leg training should take a priority position in strength training for endurance sports. It also means that the traditional strength paradigm that has kept most endurance athletes out of the gym is outdated and less than optimal.

Single leg squats, lunges and step-ups are a good start, but don’t stop there. Think about the varying angles that the leg sees and the forces acting on it (i.e. off road, construction, sand). Notice the position of the foot while the force is being applied to the ground. This means that you have to learn how to apply force while the foot, knee and hip are loading or unloading, in all three planes of motion.

i originally thought most of my endurance sports training followed these principles. under guidance from my coaches, friends, and whatever reference materials i followed, i seemed to incorporate training that i thought involved multi-angle, multi-planar, dynamic movements.

however, based on my history of repetitive use injuries, this apparently was not the case; based on my comparison of training methods to the ones described in sources like the ones above, this most definitely was not the case. from what i surmise, a lot of my training (particularly in technique work and weight training) were isolation exercises that reduced or eliminated multiple angles, multiple planes of motion, and dynamic movement.

which brings me to kung fu.

i know there may be skeptics, but i will repeat this to anyone who is willing to read or listen: kung fu helped my athletics.

since i've started with kung fu, i've found the following:

• a lot of the repetitive motion injuries i struggled with have seemed to resolve themselves and gone away, and a lot of the nagging discomfort in my body (muscles, joints, bones) seemed to have done the same.
• i can feel a greater level of physical coordination and mind-body awareness, particularly in terms of neuromuscular motor activity (i.e., volitional body movement).
• moreover, and perhaps most significantly of all, i've started to develop a greater level of flexibility, in combination with what might be called "dynamic looseness" or "suppleness." by this, i mean that before my body was in a state of constant tension (to a degree i did not know until i started kung fu) that led to bouts with muscle cramping, muscle strain, joint pain, and difficulty holding to good technique. in contrast, now i feel far less tension, with a much lower level of aches or pains, and a much greater ease in holding good technique
  

i think the reason behind this is that the kung fu i've been learning has effectively served to give the training i should have been getting but didn't. that is, it's given me the functional strength and flexibility training i should have been getting: multi-angle, multi-planar, dynamic movements.

i should point out that these results may be dependent on the type of kung fu i've been learning. there are many styles of kung fu (trust me, many, as in so many it's almost hopeless to try and name them all), with varying philosophies, modes of movement, and methods of training.

the ones i've been learning are the styles connected with northern China, particularly those that are commonly perceived as "soft" styles in the West. specifically, i've been learning 2 "soft" styles (bagua zhang and tai chi) and a "hard" style (long fist). the training i've gotten in these styles have called for remarkably intricate, subtle movements demanding balance, flexiblity, coordination, awareness, and constant variation that i as an endurance athlete was not familiar with--usually, in endurance sports, you lock your mind into the proper technique and just repeat it like a metronome; in kung fu, you have to move in constant awareness of yourself and your surroundings, and in a way that adapts to constantly changing variables and conditions. the net effect is my body having to move in all sorts of different (and seemingly bizarre) ways.

you can get an idea of what i'm talking about by checking out the following videos from my class:

northern long fist, tantui lines 1-5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2usF7iSTNA

northern long fist, tantui lines 6-10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBEtYQZretY

bagua zhang, side A, palm 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kcW9pnEsAw

bagua zhang, side B, palm 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5iS5-Rnok4


without getting into details about kung fu styles and terms like northern long fist, tantui, bagua zhang, or palms, suffice it to say that by looking at these videos you can clearly see the types of movements that are stressed so heavily by functional strength and flexibility training. in tantui, you can see a lot of double-leg and single-leg movements applied in dynamic, multi-angle, multi-planar orientations. in bagua, you can see the same orientations, but with an added element of twisting and turning. this is why i think kung fu has served to provide the training prescribed by functional strength and flexibility methods, and why it's helped me obtain so many of the benefits predicted by such methods.

i should note that all of these results are nothing new to kung fu followers. most instructors you'll encounter will always assert the ability of kung fu training to generate the kind of improvements i've encountered. as an example, you can reference the writings of Adam Hsu, a prominent representative of the northern kung fu styles i've been learning (in the interests of full disclosure, i should mention that he's a a grandmaster in the international kung fu association my lessons are in):

• Taiji Quan: From the Inside Out: http://www.adamhsu.com/articles/taiji-inout.html
• Long Fist, Part 1: Long Fist Power: http://www.adamhsu.com/articles/long_fist_power.html
• Long Fist, Part 2: Mental Training, Long Fist's Secret Weapon: http://www.adamhsu.com/articles/longfist2.html
  

the article on taiji quan (tai chi) doesn't match the videos i have on bagua zhang. but while being separate styles, tai chi and bagua zhang are both considered "soft" styles, and both tend to yield the same benefits...that, and i've started studying tai chi as well, so what i've been saying for bagua zhang and long fist also applies to tai chi.

of course, i'm not going to advise anyone to start learning any random kung fu style. some styles are very likely not compatible with endurance sports training (especially Ironman)--i'm referring to more physical, force-driven, high-intensity styles, which would likely only serve to give workouts tantamount to zone 5 anaerobic threshold training sessions...these are good for endurance sports, but only in small and highly discrete doses.

the best styles, at least in terms of assisting endurance sports (and sport in general), are those that complement aerobic training requirements without overwhelming the needs or goals of a clearly thought-out workout schedule.

having said this, i'm going to repeat the message i've been giving to everyone in person: people should give this a try. i can't say it'll work for everyone; but i can say it worked for me.

international talk like a pirate day

yeah, ok, so this doesn't really have a lot to do with triathlon (although it does, in a way, but just bear with me here for a moment).

for those of you living in a cage, today (September 19) holds the rather auspicious and increasingly famous moniker of International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

info about Talk Like a Pirate Day can be found on the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day). to summarize the entry, the holiday is an informal celebration of humor started in 1995 by 2 (very bored) friends. it exploded into popular consciousness when it was publicized by syndicated columnist Dave Barry in 2002, at which point it expanded into international celebrations held in locations around the world (hence the addition of the word "international" to the title). check out a sampling:

• US
• UK
• Australia
• Netherlands
  

you can get a feel for the growing scale of the movement by referencing the current Yahoo! news story: Tomorrow You'll Pay a Buccaneer for Corn

basically, on International Talk Like a Pirate Day, people celebrate in an air of whimsy by talking like a pirate (costumes, weaponry, and brigrand behavior purely optional). in terms of what constitutes pirate lingo, i compiled the following list of websites:

• Slate: http://www.slate.com/id/2167567
• Pirate Game: http://www.io.com/~sj/PirateTalk.html
• Pirate's Realm: http://www.thepiratesrealm.com/pirate%20talk.html
• Brethren of the Coast: http://www.geocities.com/captcutlass/Nau.html
• A Pirate's Lexicon: http://hegewisch.net/blindkat/pirates/nautical_lexicon.html
  

and if you want to learn how to be a pirate, there's always the romantic image shown in cinema--just look up classics like Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, Treasure Island, or even the modern Pirates of the Caribbean. personally, my favorite is Errol Flynn's Captain Blood, but Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow is a very close second; speaking of which, there is a very educational You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdUo4e1_eI8


i know, i know, not much to do with triathlon.

here's my response to that:

• um, fun. yeah, you know, fun. as in just chilling out, relaxing, and relishing life for awhile. check out my post on this: playlist: the joy of race day morning
  
• triathletes, in a way, sort of are the pirates of the athletic world. i mean, seriously, just think about how hard it is to get the requisite training and equipment. for that matter, recall all the machinations and surreptitious activities involved in getting them. conniving for extra race day entries, competing against fellow cohorts for the treasure of equipment deals, dealing with the scurvy dogs of abominable drivers/boaters/pedestrians, sucking bilgewater on the swim, avoiding the shiver of timbers on the bike, doing everything to not be a landlubber on the run, some would say the behavior demanded of the sport borders on piratical.
  

ok yeah, yeah, it's a stretch.

whatever. enjoy the day. arrrrrrrrrr, matey!

miles with w.b. yeats

w.b. yeats received the 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature. ostensibly, his poetry revolved around themes and materials drawn from Irish culture. he was one of the prominent figures in the Irish literary revival of the late 1800s and early 1900s, which was intended to restore Gaelic identity against historical English domination.

despite this, i still find his works universal. a lot of his writing (not all, but most) crosses cultural boundaries, since they deal with subjects that pre-occupy--whether we admit it to ourselves or not--so many of us: life, death, the meaning of both, the nature of living, the sense of the spiritual. he deals with these in a way that is not so abstract (at least, he did in his later works...his early material was borderline ethereal), nor cold, nor preachy, nor melodramatic, but instead gives an air of reality treated with warmth and respectful sensitivity that rises to understated elegance--something that seems to only magnify the impact of his writing.

yeats is one of my long-time poetic favorites. i love his stuff. it speaks to me. i find myself going back to him again and again. i'll catch myself running through his lines in my mind at various points in the course of random days, particularly on days most contemplative. i'll also find myself reciting his poems in the middle of a training set or in the midst of race day.

i know it might seem odd that i'd think of poetry like yeats in sport. admittedly, his stuff is sobering, deeply reflective, and intensely provoking on deep themes calling for thought involving concentration lasting days. basically, it's stuff you'd identify with words like methodical, careful, diligent, deep. not the kind of things you want to be when you're trying to roll in a race.

but you know, his words flow like the waters of a deep river: continuous, unwaivering, unstoppable, inexorable, strong. and as serene as the face of truth accepting the inevitability of the eternal--very much the kind of things you want when you're trying to roll in a race.

that, and...i keep saying this, but i'll say it here again, because in yeats i feel i have a sympathetic voice who can demonstrate what i mean: there are certain truths in life, certain truths we too often cover up or ignore or brush over or hide, just so we can survive our lives; truths which are laid bare through suffering and pain and misery and agony that burns and strips away our lies and deceit and ignorance; truths which we must ultimately face before being relegated to all eternity.

training. racing. each one is a microcosm of this mortality. and so a device which exposes such truths.

once we make our peace with them, we can stop merely surviving and we can start really living, with full meaning and in full appreciation of the true nature of the mystery we have been given: life.

and it's then that our race begins to have meaning.

here's a selection of some of my favorites from yeats:

The Old Men Admiring Themselves In The Water
I heard the old, old men say,
'Everything alters,
And one by one we drop away.'
They had hands like claws, and their knees
Were twisted like the old thorn-trees
By the waters.
I heard the old, old men say,
'All that's beautiful drifts away
Like the waters.'


When You Are Old
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.


An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.


Sailing to Byzantium
I
That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
--- Those dying generations --- at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.

II
An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.

III
O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.

IV
Once out of nature I shalll never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.


What Then?
His chosen comrades thought at school
He must grow a famous man;
He thought the same and lived by rule,
All his twenties crammed with toil;
`What then?' sang Plato's ghost. `What then?'

Everything he wrote was read,
After certain years he won
Sufficient money for his need,
Friends that have been friends indeed;
`What then?' sang Plato's ghost. `What then?'

All his happier dreams came true -
A small old house, wife, daughter, son,
Grounds where plum and cabbage grew,
Poets and Wits about him drew;
`What then?' sang Plato's ghost. `What then?'

`The work is done,' grown old he thought,
`According to my boyish plan;
Let the fools rage, I swerved in naught,
Something to perfection brought';
But louder sang that ghost, `What then?'