---11 AUGUST 23---
THE POWER
OF TECHNIQUE
Recently, I
competed in the USMS 2-Mile Cable Swim National Championship,
held this year at the Betsy Owens Memorial Lake Swim, here Lake
Placid. The race uses a quarter-mile stretch of the Ironman
course cable, submerged 2 meters deep in Mirror Lake. The cable
eliminates the need for sighting. One hundred athletes from
around the country competed.
Terry
Laughlin, founder of Total Immersion Swim, held a free 90-minute
workshop the evening before the race. Terry began his lecture
with a summary of his swimming career. Both in high school and
college his efforts to swim competitively and “make the team”
did not bear much fruit. He failed to make the cut.
Hmmm, maybe
Terry was not “designed” to swim fast. However, by transforming
his approach, he was destined to be fast.
His
mindful approach to swimming is the essence of Total
Immersion. As we increase our awareness of hydrodynamic body
positioning, as well as stroke mechanics that enhance rather
than compromise this positioning, we swim faster. That’s
without increased effort. Terry showed us some video clips
of his open-ocean swim technique. I remember one particular
clip of a race in San Francisco Bay: We see Terry gliding by a
small pack of splashing, thrashing swimmers. He generates no
discernable wake, shows no sign of exertion. It’s even hard to
see him sighting, yet his navigation is true.
It’s
simple: Mindfulness leads to excellence. For triathletes this
is most obvious in swimming. The rewards are great for those
who develop and master their technique. It’s a blessing that
the swim is the first leg of a triathlon. It gives us the
opportunity to begin our races with a mindful approach. With an
equal understanding of cycling and running technique, we are
able to sustain this acute mindfulness through the rest of our
race – executing each stroke, each stride with grace, economy,
efficiency and perfection. It sure beats blind effort and
desperate exertion.
Ultimately?
We must endeavor to embrace each and every moment of our lives
with such diligent, high-resolution awareness.
For me, the
most astounding example of athletic excellence through
mindfulness is bicycle trials riders – both on BMX and mountain
bikes. I have seen video clips of a style of BMX riding known
as “Flatlander”. The riders stand the bike on one wheel and
transform it into a dance partner, never dabbing their feet to
the ground. There are spins, leaps and hops from tire to tire,
as the rider changes his foot and hand contacts with the bike.
When I watch this, or footage of Ryan Leech ride his bike
balanced on a railroad rail, stop the bike and balance, then
leap with the bike, rotate 180 degrees in the air and land
perfectly on the other rail, well my jaw drops. Ahhh…to
be young again. I could take up some form of bike dancing.
But then I
suppose it’s never too late.
Terry did
quite well in the swim, placing 2nd in his age group
(55-59). (First and second place both broke the national
record.) Not bad for someone who does not do a lot of
high-intensity training. Rather, he continues to lovingly
culture and patiently distill his technique, like fine wine. He
has the best coach on the planet – his mindfulness.
As for me,
it was another hypothermic experience. Very low body fat is a
significant disadvantage for cool and cold water swimming, when
wetsuits are not allowed. By the end of the first mile, I was
cold. My proprioception was out the window. I resorted to
thrashing just to keep me warmer. I managed a 5th
place in age group, but was disappointed with my time of 55:51.9
“OK, OK,” I
remind myself, “it’s just numbers.”
I am, as
always, sincerely grateful for the life I live. What a
blessing, a gift, to cultivate and strengthen mindfulness
through endurance athletics. And what a miracle to live each
moment of our lives that way.
Namaste,
Zenman
---11 AUGUST 07---
There has
been some ongoing debate lately in Triathlete Magazine
concerning an athlete’s right to claim the title “Ironman”, to
tattoo the almighty “M-DOT” upon his or her body. Charlie Yu
claims that until you have done Hawaii Ironman, you are not
truly an Ironman, that you don’t have the right to display that
“M-Dot”.
It is a real
shame if we package up our experience of completing a powerful
and transforming 140.6-mile quest of endurance, and stamp it
with a highly successful and well-marketed registered trademark,
a brand name. With pure intent and diligence, any athletic
endurance accomplishment – in training or racing, alone or in
the company of thousands – is an out-of-the-box experience.
Ironman is
both a commercial brand name and a powerful – many of us say
spiritual – rites of passage. The M-Dot is an internationally
recognized icon for this experience. Using this icon as a tool
for bragging rights and recognition does not yield genuine
satisfaction for very long. Other people get tired of it. We
get tired of our selves. From the brand name perspective, we
might as well tattoo “Coors Beer” or “Kellog’s Corn Flakes” on
our calves.
By the way,
for those who feel that Ironman is the most sacred and hallowed
culmination of extreme athleticism and bragging rights, here’s a
little humble pie: Get online and Google “Deca Ironman”
sometime. That’s right, 24 miles of swimming, 1,120 miles of
cycling and 262 miles of running.
Whether or
not you have done Hawaii Ironman, whether or not you have
finished any Ironman, the experience, wisdom, insights and
spiritual fitness you gain from endurance training and racing is
genuine; more genuine than any trademark. No one can disclaim
you, or the path you are navigating.
I was a
13-year resident of Honaunau, on the Big Island, just 15 miles
south of Kailua Pier – the starting line for Hawaii Ironman. I
rode the bike course a hundred times in training, at times
enduring the most severe wind conditions, and at other times
enjoying the most mild wind conditions. I ran hundreds of miles
out in that desert, on that mana-charged lava, under that
scorching sun. I truly love the raw elements of earth, wind,
fire and water that reign in North Kona and Kohala. They are
most brutal, yet most compassionate teachers and guides. Hawaii
Ironman is a powerful personification of these elements, of Pele.
I’ve had the honor of participating and finishing Hawaii Ironman
twice. Better than that, I’ve had the honor to train with Pele
and her elements on a daily basis for years.
I have also
done Ironmans in other locations. (I now live, train and race
in Lake Placid. Hmmm, do I detect a trend of iron towns?) Each
race, regardless of location or brand name has been a
transforming experience. None is greater or lesser than any
other. That said, the Big Island has mana like no other place I
have been. Again, I am sincerely grateful for the hundreds of
hours I spent swimming, biking and running there. My book
“Zendurance” was composed during those hours. (I feel as though
the book was written through me, by those primal, yet
intelligent and articulate Big Island Elements.)
The essence
of training or racing anywhere is to honor the spirit of each
location and each gathering of athletes, race officials,
volunteers, spectators and media. It is not about conquering
Pele or the Big Elements on the Big Island. It’s not about
beating other athletes. It’s about learning and growing. It’s
about honoring Pele and the elements as our teachers. It’s
about honoring our fellow athletes as our teachers and our
students.
If we
subscribe to Charlie Yu’s Iron Standard – Hawaii only – then
consider this: In a few editions of Hawaii Ironman, there have
been virtually no winds on the bike course. (Trust me, the
winds are far more brutal than the heat. 2005, a very mild year
for wind, saw more age group records fall than any other year.)
Without enduring the brunt of Big Island winds, did those
athletes truly meet the Mr. Yu’s Iron Standard? Well, in those
docile years, they still handed out finisher’s medals. The
point is this: Setting precise conceptual standards upon which
to evaluate endurance quests is pure stupidity. Endurance
quests are anything but in-the-box conceptual.
There is one
event that would truly transform triathlon as a fruitful path of
knowledge, as a vital and healthy lifestyle, and hopefully, it’s
inevitable: Some day World Triathlon Corporation will pull the
plug on Kona. Some day there will be no Hawaii Ironman World
Championship Triathlon. The almighty M-Dot will no longer fly
its banner on the Big Island. Trust me, there will always
be an iron distance triathlon in Kona. The Big Elements of the
Big Island will always be there to challenge athletes, to
teach them well during their quests, their rites of passage.
The tangible vibration of mana, of life energy, rising from the
lava fields with the shimmering heat, pulsing through the veins
and arteries of all open-minded, open-hearted humans, will
always always be there on the Big Island.
Lifting the
Almighty M-Dot from the Big Island will be profoundly
liberating. The true essence and character of Pele’s 140.6 mile
quest will come into high resolution, no longer burdened and
obscured by the branding, no longer boxed by the commercialism
of conceptual experience. “Pele’s One Forty Point Six” will
always be staffed and brought to life by da Big Island O’hana,
as it always has been. But the Big Island Aloha Spirit will
expand a thousand fold – much larger, much more powerful than
the M-Dot will ever be.
The
athletes who race each year will no longer be seeking brand
recognition. Those who invest their time, energy, money
and families into making this quest will do it with pure intent,
liberated from the elitism that can seduce us.
Humility and pure intent are the greatest gifts
we can offer Pele as athletes when we go to the Big Island.
Finally,
each and every one of us – regardless of our reverence or
irreverence for the M-Dot – finds great benefit through
endurance training and racing. This is true cause for
celebration. I honor your intent and the path you navigate
through your training and racing. Someday, perhaps I’ll see you
and your family in Kona!
Namaste,
Zenman
February 20, 2007
March, 2007
June, 2007
July, 2007
September,
2007
Main Blog Page
Alignment
Virginia Double Iron
