 A quick check of the training log shows nearly 45,000 yards swam in the month of November, with one day left. That is significant for two reasons. First, it's a lot of yardage for this turtle. Second, my hair didn't feel like dry grass, this month. Sometimes, a departure from the "manly" path is beneficial. Leave in conditioner does wonders for chlorine dried hair.
One of the biggest challenges in training is patience. While generally a patient person, the improvements from training often come too slowly for my satisfaction. But if last year's efforts are an indication, the real benefits of November will become obvious over the next several months. If I can just get someone to distract me with something shiny (new gear, not jewelry), I'll forget that I wanted immediate change.
A big focus for the past month has been on my stroke. The Swim Smooth DVD set came in handy, and helped me identify some key drills for improving my form. The most painful, and probably most beneficial, is sculling. I put these drills to use in sets, sculling for one length (25 yards) then swimming back. A couple laps of that was usually enough to have my chest muscles screaming. That is a good sign that I need to do the drills and that they are improving strength in areas key to good form. Though the 30-day focus is coming to an end, I will continue to use the Swim Smooth drills during the winter to fix one or two key weaknesses in my form.
After tomorrow, it's back to a normal training schedule. It's time to start ramping up the run mileage, and get the bike onto the trainer. And take a rest day or two.
Birthdays can be challenging. Since our son and daughter have birthdays so close, we tend to have one party for both of them. Due to the timing, my dad was going to miss that party, so we decided to have lunch at his house and let the kids open his presents there. Between Sunday School, church, and lunch, it was nearly 2 p.m. before they were both down for their nap.
The plan was to get to the pool for my swim and then go to dinner for our daughter's birthday meal. Then my wife reminded me that my car had to get to the shop for periodic maintenance. Given the late start to naps and a planned exursion for dinner, it was going to be a challenge to fit all the pieces together. It was time to highlight another benefit of fitness.
Figuring the shop to be around eight miles from home, I abandoned the idea of completing a swim (miss number three for November) and decided to drive the car to the shop, myself. By wearing running clothes and taking my Amphipod, I could fit a workout in by running home. The kids could nap, I would get my workout done, my car would be dropped off, and no new wrinkles would be introduced to an already tight schedule.
People often point to weight loss and overall health when considering the benefits of an active lifestyle. By looking deeper, there are lots of other benefits. Most people would have had to wake the kids up from their nap and load them into the car, or jam one more trip into a full day. By combining workouts with other errands, the fit athlete can actually reduce their workload.
For other great (and often humorous) examples of this philosophy, visit George Schweitzer's site. He has quite a few stories about putting his fitness to good use.
 Each night, our kids say prayers at bedtime. At two, Monster Girl is fairly predictable. Her prayers are usually a repeat of the previous night's prayers. "Mommy, Dadddieeeee, Beee (her name for her brother), My (her name for herself), Papa (all grandparents)." B-Boy covers a bit more ground, and is nearly as predictable. He goes for things he can see. Toys, books, anything hanging on the wall, etc. He also throws in a few things he's heard consistently, such as grandparents, the world, and poor people. And he always gives thanks for the stars and the moon. I think that's because he can see them at night when he is doing his prayers.
As we head into the Thanksgiving weekend, most of us will reflect upon those things for which we are thankful. Like young kids, many of those things are fairly predictable. Family, friends, and health are often at the top of the list. That led me to consider things for which I am thankful that might raise a few eyebrows.
I am thankful that I was unable to afford college when I left high school, and that I decided to go, anyway. A lot of valuable experiences came from that period in my life. I gained a great understanding of my mom's love as she worked to help pay for me to be there. I joined a punk rock band, wound up in the hospital with a broken jaw, and learned it is very difficult for a 19-year old to balance full time work with full time school. More than a decade later, I would learn it is much easier for a 30-something to do the same thing.
Eventually, reality set in, and I realized that college, at that point in time, was wrong for me. I'm thankful that when that happened, I had a dad who showed restraint and avoided the "I told you so" speech. I was given the latitude to drift a bit, and support when I finally decided to join the Navy. My dad refrained from that "I told you so" speech, as well. In the end, the Navy was where I needed to be. It gave me the discipline and experience to actually get through college. And it put me in Virginia where I met Mrs. Pol. Without the choices that were made, the family I value so much wouldn't have come into existence.
I'm thankful for sarcoidosis. While many would question the sanity of being thankful for a potentially life-threatening illness, it takes a big picture view to understand fully. First, my sarcoid, to date, has been very benign and has resolved itself without treatment (knock on wood, here). Second, sarcoid was the GOOD diagnosis. The other possibility was leukemia. I'll take sarcoidosis over leukemia any day. Finally, those faint shadows in my lungs led to important changes in my life.
When first diagnosed with sarcoidosis, I was pushing 230 pounds and continuing to gain weight. I couldn't run 1.5 miles to save my life and my bike was just an option for riding around town. I hadn't been in a pool for exercise, well, ever. Pulmonary illness put me into the care of outstanding VA doctors. And their need to monitor my lung capacity led to a course correction in my life.
I started the change from couch/computer potato to recreational runner. Then, I went from recreational runner to endurance runner. That led to triathlons and Ironman. Without the diagnosis of sarcoidosis, it is quite likely I would still be well over 220 pounds, fighting serious GI issues, and facing a lifetime of heart related illness. Instead, I'm considering a 50-mile endurance run and future iron distance triathlons.
It's easy to be thankful for everyday things in life. And we should be thankful for them. We should also spend some time reflecting on those things that are less clear. Often, positive events in our lives appear negative at first. We usually need time to give us the proper perspective on things. Now is a good time to look back and give thanks for things overlooked or misunderstood in the past.
If you don't frequent Simply Stu's website and catch his podcasts, I suggest making a trip over there when you have an hour. If you're sitting around work and (like me) can't get a good radio station, he had the opportunity to interview Chris McCormack, winner of the 2007 Ironman World Championship.
What are you doing? Go!
A couple of comments have come in regarding Sunday's broadcast of the Ironman Louisville race.
No, it wasn't me shown finishing near the end of the show. There were a total of two members of the Fox Cities Triathlon Club wearing full team kit, that day. They found the other one. It WAS a great shot, though!
And just to add to the injury, I will be looking for one of the local race directors to find out if he was in Louisville as a spectator. On the DVD sent to finishers, there is a shot of the crowd, and I'm fairly certain he was in it.
So, while it wasn't me, the Fox Cities Triathlon Club did make it onto the national broadcast. It's all about the jerseys!
One ongoing discussion in our swim group centers on water temperature. We have a few hot-blooded mammals I honestly believe would prefer to see ice cubes (or icebergs) floating in the water. On the other extreme is Coach Curt who frequently comments about various pools being "too chilly" for a normal swim. I seem to fall somewhere in the middle. I'm not fond of warm water, but still want to leave my wetsuit at home if I'm going to a pool.
Generally, the pool where I train is a good fit. Occassionally, I'll get into the pool and shiver a bit. It's usually nothing a few lengths can't resolve, and I warm up quickly enough. And sometimes I hop in thinking it's a tad warm. Still, it's water and cools better than air. Warm water will still cool a swimmer in the midst of a tough workout.
Then again, I did qualify that with "generally..."
This morning, the only thought that came to mind when I got in the pool was kiddie pool. You know what I'm talking about. The wading pools common at many locations. The ones with 6-8 inches of water, designed for toddlers.
I'm not sure what the water temperature was, this morning, but I sure hope they have a slush fund for paying the utilities. I swear it was so warm my kids wouldn't have liked it. They won't get into a tub with bathwater as warm as the water in our pool.
As I left the pool after a quick workout, I was left with one additional thought.
Who knew it was possible to sweat in the water?
 In the past month, I've discovered a couple of co-workers are no longer with our company. Generally, these discoveries were made when I sought out those individuals for help with a task or to give them information. In one case, the guy had been gone for nearly a month. I guess when it comes to the grapevine, I'm a victim of scorched earth technique.
For this morning's swim workout, I decided to do a time trial. (No, this isn't horribly ADD, there will be a connection). My lane partner was Coach Curt, who helped train the kids in our youth triathlon program. As I finished the time trial, he asked what the format was, "Did you do 10x100, or something else?" That led to the following conversation.
IP - Well, I did 40 lengths, whatever the exact distance is.
CC, looking at me rather oddly - Oh, is this pool short?
IP - The staff says it's 72 lengths to a mile. That's about 24.4 yards per length.
CC - Actually, most pools are either 72 lengths to a mile, or 36 if it's a 50 yard pool. It's the closest thing they can use so you start and stop at the same end.
IP - Blink. Blink.
IP - Well, the Neenah pool says it's 66 lengths to a mile.
CC - They're using a competitive mile, which for some reason is actually 1650 yards.
IP - Blink. Blink. So, I've been shorting myself significant yardage on every swim?
CC - Why is that?
IP - Because I've been using 72 lengths to a mile, 1760 yards to a mile, so 24.4 yards to one length. I do the math to figure out how far I swim for each interval.
CC - No, I'm sure you can safely use 25 yards per length. If it's off, it won't be by more than an inch or two.
IP - Blink. Blink.
In the end, our little conversation reveals several minor details. First, I have completed SIGNIFICANTLY more yardage this year than I have logged. Coach Curt pointed out that I can take a few days off, as I have several thousand yards in the bank. Second, I may be just a bit obsessive when it comes to math. Am I the only person in the world who has been calculating yardage out based on 1760 yds/72 lengths?
Perhaps an alternative title would be, "Yes, Iron Pol is Just THAT Naive."
A recent post on raceAthlete comes from Erin of the Long and Winding Road blog. The comments on her post were as interesting as the post, and my own response fits better here than in the comment section.
Her post comes from discussions held at a spa she recently visited. Her post is worth reading, so stop by her blog or raceAthlete for the full treatment. In the mean time, allow me to ‘splain. No, ‘twill take to long. Lemme summup. (Sorry, couldn’t resist)
The long and short of it is that Erin entered, well, was dragged into a conversation with another female triathlete. This woman apparently has some amount of self-satisfaction with her training and race performance, and was willing to share with anyone and everyone in her presence. During the discussion, it came to light that both Erin and the other woman had finished their first Ironman events in 2007.
Erin’s primary interest was in sharing her feelings from the day. I imagine she probably had stories similar to many other Ironman participants. High points, low points, and that it was one of the best days of her life.
The other woman? She was more interested in Erin’s time. When she had it, she was apparently quite smug as she pointed out that her time was about two hours faster than Erin’s.
This very nearly resulted in Erin’s head exploding from her body and blasting through the other woman’s chest. Luckily, Erin seems to be part saint, and responded about the good time the woman posted. Which promptly encouraged the other woman to talk about how “poorly” she did, and that she can be much faster, and plans on qualifying for Kona once she straightens a few things out.
Erin’s take on the whole issue is that the woman seems to have missed something. For Erin, Ironman is about personal accomplishment and individual success. For the other woman, it seemed to be about competition and doing better than others.
One of comments left at raceAthlete was from Mike (blog unknown). He was confused by Erin’s response, and indicated he has no problem with others finishing ahead of him. “… I accept the fact that they are better than I am.” I think this misses the point, and raises a few questions.
Most of us who enter triathlons accept that many will be faster than us and others will be slower than us. It is a fairly small group that is capable of competing to win and the rest of us must compete against ourselves. That said, the only real question about time in a race should be, “Did you achieve your goals for the day?”
If someone asks me how I did in Louisville, I tell them I did well. I finished the race, and met most of my goals. If they ask my time, I’ll tell them. If that individual’s response is to try and “one up” me by telling me they had a better time, they are the one in need of an attitude adjustment, not me. If their response is similar to mine, hackles are unlikely to be raised. “I did well, too. I had a great swim and okay bike, which enabled me to finish just under my target of 12:30.” That’s significantly different than a self-satisfied, “13:12? I finished in 12:10.”
The plain and simple fact is that time alone is a poor judge of how “well” someone did on a given day. Consider two people at the same Ironman. One finishes in 10:45 and the other in 11:15. Who had the better day? At first glance, one might say the person who ran the 10:45. What if that person is Faris al Sultan and the person with the 11:15 is me? Faris just ran something like two hours under what he is capable of doing. And I just ran a PR of nearly an hour.
But does that even answer all of the questions?
What if we find out Faris raced with a bad knee and a mild touch of the flu? And I raced under the same conditions as the raceAthlete sponsored team from 2007. A brand new BMC bike, coaching, Power Tap, etc. Might that change our answers? There are so many factors that go into completing an Ironman that the simple question of “What was your time” is almost guaranteed to miss vital information.
And the fact that someone ran a faster race is absolutely no indication of someone being a “better” person. Now, I understand Mike’s point. They are “better” racers. Perhaps. That all depends on perspective. Dick Hoyt hasn’t won too many races in his career. Then again, most of us don’t carry the load he does. Those who finish ahead of him aren’t necessarily better. They just got to the finish line faster.
Individuals who attempt to boost themselves up by pushing others down should examine their priorities. I am all for the woman Erin met improving herself and qualifying for Kona. If she does, she deserves every bit of credit given. GIVEN. A fast time or a Kona slot is not a license to belittle the accomplishments of others. Many of us will likely never qualify to race in Hawaii. It makes us no better or worse.
Attitude. That CAN make someone “better” or “worse.” I’ll hang all day with someone who has a positive attitude. If they’re slower, I’ll run with them. If they’re faster, I’ll run with them while I can.
If someone has a rotten attitude, I’ll walk or sprint just to find someone with a better attitude.
Prior to the 80s, few kids had the kind of electronic "baby-sitters" that are prevalent, today. As I was growing up, television was very limited in our household. Every time a group of kids managed to watch more than a few shows, a parent was there to send them out the door. Regardless of where we went, we were encouraged (pronounced "forced") to get outside and do something. Bike rides, golfing, running around the park, chasing through the woods, and launching then chasing model rockets are just a few of the activities we did to burn calories.
Things are different, today. Few parents will send their 6-12 year old kids out into the world with little concern for where they go. The days of sending kids out to "play" without keeping a close eye on them and anyone around them are long gone. And parents are faced with the challenge of balancing the needs of their children with the needs of the rest of life.
In the Pol household, we limit television viewing to a few shows in the morning and one show in the evening. Morning shows are dedicated to educational viewing. At night, we juggle a wide variety of shows, depending on what the kids want at the time. Lately, that's been races.
My kids constantly amaze me by asking for one triathlon video or another. My son has taken to referring to Ironman races by color. IMAZ is "the orange Ironman." Coeur d'Alene is "the green Ironman." Next week, we get to watch "the red Ironman. The one daddy did." And when they decide to watch a race, it's pointless to try and show them a Disney movie or other show. Only a triathlon video will do.
It is equally as heartening to watch them while watching a race. They may as well be participating in the race. My son runs from the kitchen, through the living room to a hallway. Then back. Observers are required to cheer for him (the runner). My daughter likes to sit on my knees during the bike portions. She leans forward and grabs my index fingers as if they are her personal aerobars. It's absolutelty hilarious.
It is also something we praise and encourage. With the exception of our dining room (china and all), we rarely prevent our kids from running in the house. We just try to limit the potential for damage and injury. If they want to run, they run. And whenever possible, we take them outside so they can play on their bikes and REALLY run. Our chores often suffer because of it, but we'll have plenty of time to clean. They'll only be kids for so long, and we want them to develop a LOVE of running and biking. In the future, they won't care all that much that there were toys in the living room or books on their floor.
They WILL remember being able to run like the wind or bike all afternoon. And if they remember, perhaps they'll continue. And if they continue, perhaps they won't find themselves struggling to REGAIN fitness when they get older. Perhaps they'll never lose it.
 This post could have a lot of different titles. "Old School," "We're Not Worthy," "Double Tough," and "It Takes All Kinds" are some of the options I considered. They all apply, and the reasons why will become quite apparent.
This past week, the video of IM Louisville highlights arrived. My kids love it, and we've watched it several times. One remarkable portion of the video shows the man pictured here. His name is Joe. And he is one double tough, old school Ironman.
He is a 42-year old laborer from Memphis, Tennessee. He finished IMKY in just over 16 hours. Many would say those are some fairly common characteristics, far from remarkable. Then again, I've seen the video and searched out a few pictures for further consideration.
Consider Joe on the bike...
 There are a couple of notable items about Joe on the bike. First, note that he is on an old school road bike. No aero bars. No aero fork. One water bottle cage. For that matter, a close look at the pedals will reveal that not only aren't they clipless, they appear to be cageless.
Many of us talk about going low tech when we leave our heart rate monitors at home. Joe seems to have taken a step back toward the original Ironman competitors, completing the event using very basic equipment.
If you still question whether that makes him "double tough," look at his "bike kit." Yes, those are jean shorts. And a standard cotton t-shirt. I don't know about you, but I sometimes find spandex tri-shorts a bit course for my liking over the course of 112 miles. I cannot imagine completing long rides wearing cotton.
 Joe didn't change much for the run. He traded his cycling helmet in for the Ironman hat, and may have switched shirts. He wore the same jean shorts from the bike onto the run. And he kept moving.
It was very apparent from the video that Joe impressed and motivated the people who saw him on the course. On the bike course, the video crew started filming one lady, and she pointed out Joe saying they should film him, instead. They did.
Later, the film crew caught up with Joe on the run. They asked if he had heard many comments about his shorts. Joe did what many of us would have done on the run. He kept going and may not have even heard the cameraman.
Another competitor on the run commented that Joe showed just how tough he is because in addition to completing the Ironman, he put up with the constant questions about his attire. I don't know how many questions Joe might have faced, but I am sure everyone who saw him was amazed he would go into an Ironman using such basic equipment.
The variety of competitors is part of what makes triathlon so popular. Participants cross the spectrum of training, equipment, background, and ability. And in Ironman, the pinnacle of the sport, everyday laborers such as Joe can compete with superstars such as Chris McDonald and Heather Gollnick. The winners demonstrated their toughness by finishing first. Joe showed his toughness by kickin' it, OLD SCHOOL.
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