Triathlon and Problem Solving

I am a big believer in approaching triathlon holistically, so it really resonates with me when well written coaches do the same.  Think Matt Dixon of Purplepatch fitness breaking 'training' down into four pillars (e.g., endurance, strength, nutrition, recovery), or Jesse Kropelnicki of QT2Systems highlighting the importance of mental fitness (e.g., getting and keeping your mind in the right place during a race) or Alan Couzens recently writing about the importance of general health as a foundation for performance. All of this is great stuff and in combination, paints a pretty complete picture of what it takes to become a successful endurance athlete.

That said, I think the one thing that is missing and doesn't get explicitly called out enough (if at all) is the importance of problem solving (e.g., critical thinking). While on its face it this may sound similar to mental fitness, it's a completely different thing.  While my understanding of the former is about fostering a state of mind that lends itself to success (e.g., strong, tough, calm, etc.), the latter is about being able to look at all the variables/levers (e.g., inputs) that impact triathlon and pull on them in a way that optimizes performance (e.g,, output); all within an individual's constraints. While problem solving is key for anyone involved in the sport, I think it becomes an increasingly important skill for age-group athletes since they often have more variables and constraints to deal with.

Problem solving has a role in nearly everything triathlon related, from traditional training trade-offs, to thriving on race day, to keeping the sport sustainable. I could go on forever, so I'll do my best to give just a few examples that capture what I'm talking about:

• Do I try and lose 3 pounds for my hot weather race, knowing the risk of injury/illness will go up and power on the bike may go down?
• Extra hour of sleep, extra hour of training, hour for massage? Over a day, a week, a month, a year?
• Pacing strategy during a race; do I push on the bike and give on the run?
• Gear choice: wetsuit vs. speedsuit in warmer water with a long transition, disc wheel versus deep wheel on very hilly terrain with sharp ascents, vented helmet vs. non, one bottle or two?
• Race mishap prevention: the added weight/aero cost of of tire sealant, carrying tubes/cartridge?
• Physical sustainability: do I complete huge weeks this year and carry great fitness going into an A-race, knowing that it may put me in a hole that lasts into the following year(s)?
• Overall sustainability: extra hour of training, or time with family? Kill myself to get to the pool during lunch at work, or a less stressful lunch (and one likely involving more real food) in the cafe next door?

Like I said, the list goes on and on, but you should get the gist.  While lots of this thinking can be outsourced to a good coach, at the end of the day, much of it falls upon the athlete too. Making things even more complex is the fact that although some of these puzzles can be empirically tested, nearly all of them are moving targets and change over time as an athlete's body, experience, residual fitness, relationship status, etc., etc., change too. For as much attention as the sport gets as being physically grueling, I think an equally neat aspect of triathlon is how mentally demanding the sport is too; and in a capacity well beyond being strong/tough.  Triathlon is rife with trade-offs, and having the skill-set to approach and figure out the balance between them is key to racing well and racing for a while.

Top 10 Reasons You Know You Are A Triathlete

Race reports can be boring and all the philosophical stuff is a bit serious.  A recent Powerbar Tweet about how you know you are an Endurance Athlete prompted me to have some fun.

10) You take the elevator to the second floor.

9) When your significant other reveals plans for a magnificent vacation to some exotic oasis, the first thing you do is go to the resort's webpage > pictures > amenities > fitness center.

8) You eat near perfect until about 8PM, and then its time for cereal.

7) You have to question the definition of "shoplifting" when in the bulk aisle of the grocery store.

6) You assign activities of daily living a purpose; dinner becomes a "recovery meal" and sleep becomes an "adaptation phase."

5) When someone asks your age, you respond "25 to 29."

4) "Honey, I drunk ordered a new wheel-set."

3)  You eat over 4000 calories a day, yet your friends and family question whether or not you have an eating disorder.

2) You look forward to Mondays because they are "easy days."

1) Everyone else knows your a triathlete!! 


*** In full disclosure, # 3 I originally saw on a Slowtwitch thread***

Sponsorship of Amateur Athletes

The topic of “sponsorship” in multisport has been discussed repeatedly across venues from magazines to forums ever since I became active in the sport(s) some three years ago.  There is a lot of variability in thinking/feeling (the latter being more decisive) on the topic, and for what it’s worth, I figured I would share my thoughts based on recent experiences working with a small number of companies in the industry:

Yes, I am an amateur athlete (e.g., I do not have a pro card) and am "sponsored" by a few companies...although I do not like to think of the arrangement as a "sponsorship" but more of a partnership or symbiotic relationship. I can't say what it is like among the pro ranks because I do not know, but I can say way too many amateurs have a mindset that they are super-fast, finish well, and therefore companies should be sending them free and/or heavily discounted product. In my opinion, this just isn't how it works. For one, in this day and age, way too many guys are super-fast and finish well so "standing out" because of good results is likely harder to do than it was in the past. And far more important, results are just one dimension of a total athlete that matter to companies, and for many companies in the industry, results may fall behind other things such as: prevalence and reputation in the multisport community, knowledge about their brand and product(s), and motivation and skills to communicate. 

Sure, maybe some folks will see a logo on Craig Alexander's kit/blog and decide to try a product because of it, but unless you are Craig Alexander, even if you are killing it in the AG ranks, generally a conversation occurs about a logo on your kit/blog prior to someone trying it. So yes, while results matter, they are just part of the equation, and if anything, more often than not a conduit to shine as a spokesperson.

In my partnerships, I am so fortunate to get...comped and/or discounted product from the companies that I partner with, and I think this is the case for many age-groupers as I don't know of a single amateur who is getting cash, and it is my understanding that even just a minority of pros have cash sponsorship deals. Going into details about these arrangements would actually go against the spirit of a true partnership since to companies, athlete partners are likely thought of as parts of a broader marketing toolkit, and no companies that I know of openly share their marketing strategies with each other.

What I give...is a combination of multiple things that hopefully work together to help my partners out much like they help me out. First and foremost, I give an honest opinion about the products, and only use them if I think they work. Athletes that chase deals because they think it "sounds cool to be sponsored" makes *no sense* to me and epitomizes the sometimes negative stereotype thrown at triathletes. So the first thing I give is an endearing personal endorsement of a product because I use it and believe it works. After and because of that true personal endorsement and belief in the product(s), I share my experience with others in the triathlon community that could benefit and think of myself as an ambassador/spokesperson [in my triathlon circle, which is different from Craig Alexander's] for the companies I partner with. This involves writing product reviews and small-talk at my Masters swim group, on group rides, and at the track. As you'll see on my blog, I also post links to company websites, and use other social media vehicles (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) to help get the word out about these products. Finally, I wear their logo's on my body (e.g., on my Kit) at races, and strive for great results. That said, and as I mention above, I don't think anyone has ever tried out a product because they saw the logo on my uniform, but multiple people have asked me about a product because of this...which gets to the role of the importance of being a good spokesperson.

As an aside from helping in a marketing/branding role (as outlined above) I also try to act as a product-development and strategy consultant, constantly giving feedback on products (both based on my experience and what I am hearing from others) and also offering business ideas that are spurred from what I observe day-to-day "in the field." It's so great to work with companies that really value this type of engagement too, as some of these ideas have lead to a website re-design, new newsletter generation, etc., etc.  Truth be told, I don't think I would be nearly as much of an asset to companies that didn't engage with their athletes in this manner. 

So, to make a long story short, it's all about a partnership and mutually beneficial relationships, and as an athlete, it is important to see results as just a part of the equation. Make no mistake, when I evaluate myself as an athlete about the only thing that matters is how fast I go on race day...but when I evaluate myself as a brand ambassador, this is one factor among many. The good news is, I don't think very many companies look down upon good results...so the two most certainly go hand-in-hand. 

Shoe Review: Quick Thoughts on Neutral Half Ironman Shoes

There are plenty of long, highly technical shoe reviews out there, so rather than repeat that [mostly] good work that has already done, I'll try to get right to the point and make this as useful/practical as possible for those looking for a neutral shoe appropriate for the Half Ironman (HIM) distance...and perhaps without the time to read scholarly reviewed journal articles on shoes...

To set the context, throughout my duathlon season in 2011 and most of my tri season in 2012, I raced in the Nike LunarRacers. Back in 2011 when I was first becoming more serious about running/duathlon, I trained in the Nike LunarFlys (which would now be too built up for me, even for training purposes, but back then they were a good fit) so the natural progression on race day was into the significantly lighter but similarly neutrally built LunarRacers. I loved everything about the LunarRacers -- the time period and my experience spans all models from the original to the 2 -- except for the upper, which I found to wear down and even tear somewhat fast, and the tongue, which was made of the flimsiest material ever and thus would always sink down into the shoe and rub against my forefoot during fast transitions.  So, for those two years, I literally spent an extra 10-20 seconds in transition dealing with the "pulling up" the tongue, and this held true regardless of what lacing system I was using.

Toward the end of 2012 I realized it didn't have to be this way, and that the time, energy, and stress cost of transition in the LunarRacers outweighed how much I loved the shoe (which I would still wear for an open road race any day).  After seeking the opinion of some friends in the shoe industry and the Slowtwitch community, I tried out some comparable New Balance Options, the MR 1400 and the MR 1600. 

I found the MR 1400 to be extremely comfortable and durable, and started using this for nearly all of my training runs.  At a listed weight of just 7.1oz, the shoe was still really light, but felt more like a trainer than a racing flat.  Some of this may have to do with the 11mm drop, so the shoe is indeed quite a bit built up. In any event, the upper and tongue had none of the problems of the LunarRacer, and although this shoe had a less cushioned feel, I was starting to really work my way into it enjoying the springy sensation off the road, and feeling like I found a solution with New Balance!!

Because I thought "lighter is always better," I went with a similar approach that I had done when I first came into the sport with the LunarFly/LunarRacer combo, and opted to order a pair of the MR 1400's lighter brother, the MR 1600.  I raced a reverse triathlon in these bad boys and had one of the fastest and best feeling run splits [10K] of my life...so why not wear them off the bike a few weeks later at the HIM distance?  Mistake! My shins and calves lit up wearing this, and simply could not handle the stress of such a minimal shoe after biking near threshold for 56 miles. Again, no problems with the tongue in transition, but just not enough shoe there for me at this distance, and I suffered my way to a slower than usual 13.1 off the bike.

So, 2013 rolls around and I am thinking that the NB 1400 would be my HIM shoe...until I hear that Nike is releasing a new version of the LunarRacer (3+) with a completely redone upper.  Fast-forward to now, and while I only have a training run under my belt in the 3+, I can say that this shoe is basically everything I loved about the older version (light-weight but extremely cushioned ride) with a more durable upper and traditional tongue that - although in the comfort of my living room - didn't slip at all during a mock transition.  I obviously still need to try these in a race situation before I can really say more, but for those of you on the edge, if you liked everything about the older versions except the upper (a la, me) then this could be the best thing since sliced bread...minus the price differential between the two, or refined crap in your sliced bread...but I digress...


So, all of that said, I am not yet convinced that I will explicitly race in the LunarRacer 3+ and certainly not for all distances.  I think the best part of this process hasn't been discovering the perfect shoe, but rather, finding a trio of shoes that should meet all of my needs, can be mixed up, and also used with some specificity.

New Balance MR 1600: Lightest of the 3, and something like a 7mm drop. I'm not at all into any of that barefoot stuff, but you literally feel the ground in these shoes.  Hardly any cushioning.  I'll wear these for open running races 5K to 10K (maybe a half-marathon if I was willing to hurt bad in the lower legs for a few days post), and could see myself playing with these in multisport races with 10K or less total running (Oly and down and distance).

New Balance MR 1400: Although lists as 1oz heavier than the LunarRacer 3+, in my hands, there is no weight difference at all.  I think the biggest plus to this over the LR 3+ is that there is a bit less cushion so you have more of a feel for the ground, and thus actually feel a bit springier while running.  The con here in my opinion is the significant 11mm drop, which provides some comfort, but also left me wondering if a recent heel injury (more on this to come once it's fully behind me) had something to do with these shoes.  If "feeling" springy is important and you are not a true midfoot striker (and/or need to protect calves) then I would say this is the perfect HIM shoe.

Nike Lunar Racer 3+: Initial reaction is positive, but like I said, I still need to race in these. In comparison to the MR 1400, same weight, much more cushioning (maybe too much, as my first run in these after being in the MR 1400s actually felt kind of clunky) and the lowest drop of the three (good for encouraging midfoot striking).

All 3: Durable uppers and solid tongues, likely fine in transition with any good lacing system. In conclusion, MR 1600 for short stuff and road races knowing my lower legs are going to take a beating, MR 1400 or LunarRacer 3+ for HIM distance...for those that don't mind a bigger drop but like a springy feeling, I'd say the MR 1400, and for those that want a very cushioned ride with little drop, the LR 3+.  I still need to figure out which case optimizes my racing, and will certainly rotate these in training.

Hope this helped a bit!