Peter Vu's Ironman Blog - Vineman 7/31/10

Here's some Ironman Inspiration:



Sorry for the lack of posting, but here's a quick update of training for the past few weeks. 

• CLIMBING: Latigo. Mulholland. Piuma or Calabasas Lollipop.  These are 3 cycle rides that we have done the past few weeks. They are strictly climbing and crazy intense. The last one, Piuma, we did this past Saturday was straight up ridiculous - 4 hours of climbing. Let me say that this ride was by far the most physically demanding thing I have ever done. EVER. Harder than my marathons. We biked 2 loops of 28 miles each (56 total), and I almost wanted to cry after the first loop. And this is coming from someone who finished early compared with the rest of the team. After completing this workout, I felt that I could do almost anything...like whoa!
• Lance Armstrong also trains up on the Calabasas roads too.
• Did I also mention that I had to swim 2400 yards the next day and run 12 miles? Training is heating up...geez.
• Swimming = still looking to improve. May pay for a videotape lesson to improve my form. However, coaches tell me me that I'll be fine right now for the Ironman swim...aiya, self-critiques are vile things.
• Btw, Ironteam's idea of a recovery week = sprints...basically, no recovery weeks. Ouch.
• Like my man Carlos says, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop!"
• Oh man...I have cravings for In-n-Out now because I train so much. I don't feel too guilty since I burn so many calories during the week. Probably will cut back as May/June/July approaches and training cranks up a notch.
• I bought a scale and weighed myself ...around the 150-155 mark. Just insane because that is how much I weighed Senior Year of HS/Entering Freshman Year. For all you dieters, cut out your sugars and processed food. I've basically lost over 20 pounds since the height of my self-indulgence (i-banking in NYC).
• Wildflower Half-Ironman coming up in a month - wow, fast! We have a training simulation weekend in two weeks...can't wait.

Ironman legend Dave Scott talks about swim technique.

 “It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” ~Proverb

You have a dream. Right?

Everyone does. Maybe it’s buried, but it’s there. You probably have a rainbow assortment. Your life is made up of choices. Why not choose your dreams?

One of life’s persistent realities is that you can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything, and clearly, you can’t do everything at once. Focusing on one dream at a time makes success—completion—viable. Feeling bad, burned out and failing are not your goals. Defend against these hazards by taking on just one project at a time.

Even if you are the king of plate spinners planning and preparing will get you to your noble goal in less time, with less stress. Taking on too much guaranties neglected friends, disrupted sleep, missed deadlines. You know that frenetic feeling, and you know it’s not sustainable.

Imagine your dream as an entree. Picture something that will nurture, strengthen, and energize you. How are you going to eat that alluring plate of food? Slowly, savoring every bite, or quickly, without really tasting and enjoying the experience? With your hands or with chopsticks? Chopsticks are the epicure’s brakes, handily encouraging small bites.

Small bites is your new motto as you progress towards your dream. Whether you write a book, learn to paint, rekindle your love of photography, or get more familiar with Creative Suite, start by listing what it will take to get from here to there—that big place you want to be—using the smallest steps possible.

Read more here.

The Ironman training is already well underway, and I am having a great time with my teammates, the coaches and just the overall experience. In participating in what feels sometimes like a larger-than-life event, an individual can circumvent self-imposed limits or societal norms for what an average person can do (trust me, I'm not a "freak of nature" - Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington currently hold those honors in this crazy sport). But this is also a sport that can humble the most gifted and mentally resilient of people.

For this post, I just want to touch on this notion of humility-in its many forms. Training. Life. 

Our team trains usually 5-6 days a week. We generally split the three different activities up evenly throughout the week. When it comes to biking and running, I tend to feel golden. I have ran a couple marathons in the past 1.5 years, and that experience has definitely provided me with the proverbial "edge" when I hop off the bike and transition into my run. On the bike, I started off slow, learning how to pedal, switch gears, avoid cars, etc. Treacherous hills have dotted that learning curve as well, but for the most part, I was tackling this newfound sport with steadily measurable progress, just as a musician jumps from playing chords to scales and then eventually to simple songs. However, this sport is not won by majority vote: best 2 out of 3 does not cut it. Triathlons test your mettle because they require unanimous consent--completing all 3 stages, and for some people, muoi, swimming may be the most important stage.  If you don't complete the swimming, you can't finish the bike or the run.

Swimming is my weakest event right now. It is also my favorite challenge, and at the end of the day what may define my character. Coming into training, I really had no swimming background and the thought of swimming 2.4 miles let alone 1.2 miles was laughable. I really had terrible form when I first started (you know when Coach calls you out at one of the first practices in front of the whole class for the "wrong" form during a drill). Just like any novice who seeks to master his field, you listen to the experts, follow their advice and practice, practice, practice. Some days you hop out of the pool and instantaneously yell "Hulk Smash" because you crushed the swim--maybe improved your stroke incrementally but most importantly did not stagnate and progressed. Other days you labor through your 1500 or 1600 yard swim with bewildered angst, deciding how much you will have to save over the next month or two to afford Olympic trained and videotaped coaching critiques. Thankfully, that balance has swung favorably to the positive in the past few weeks. Case in point, Desert Tri and my first true open water swim. Panic could have settled in when I realized there was no wall to push off after the first 25 yards or black line to dictate the shortest distance between me and Mr. Green Buoy, but it didn't. I also had some issues breathing, but I pulled through. Still, I thought I had a slow swim by the end.

Why fixate over swimming when it seems like you are making progress? Because despite what the results may indicate, sometimes you internally do not feel that way and impatience is a rotten creature that can pester you if left untamed.

Here, is where I want to introduce this idea of humility. If you understand that you are not going to win the Kona Triathlon Championship or Vineman,  for that matter, then you realize that you are not the best triathlete out there on the course.  When you see other teammates lapping you in the pool, you are obviously not the fastest swimmer in your lane. However, when you see Gordie Lat, one of your honored teammates and cancer battler, training in a slower lane than you, you know that you do not have to be the best triathlete out there in the pool or ocean. Improving in your training is a laudable goal, but merely participating so that you can raise money to fight cancer and allow someone else to train is really the race worth finishing.

I remember the week after Desert Tri, I received a Facebook message from Gordie saying "What's up, superhero?". A bit nonplussed, I responded dryly that I was no superhero, and just a finisher at Desert Tri. Gordie responded back, "You are a superhero because you're out there saving my life!". To say the least, that unexpected appreciative comment made my day. My week. Maybe my season.

So, I will continue to battle in the water and try to improve. And some days, I will probably go home and Google "swim videotape sessions Los Angeles." I will NOT forget though how lucky I am. Reminding myself to stay humble because you cannot always be the best, but you can work hard and give it all you got.

If you want to know about real superheroes, read the story below about Hunter, who passed away earlier this week. Thanks Sara for sharing.


The Death of A Superhero

Here are some pics from my first triathlon in Palm Springs this past weekend. It was international distance - 3/4 mile swim, 24 mile bike and 6 mile run. Completed in 2 hours and 40 minutes and under less than favorable weather conditions - pouring rain and cold temperatures. Such a crazy, intense, out of this world experience.

I am now a triathlete.

If you asked me two years ago if I could ever do a triathlon, I would have surely said NO. But the longer I live, the more I realize that the only limits that there are in life are self-imposed.

Next up: Half-Ironman Triathlon. Go Team!

 Birthday Present? Please go here.

Here's an article discussing some efficient techniques for open water swimming:

Next time you are in an open-water event, don’t forget these critical steps for fast and efficient sighting: Arch your back, kick harder, lift only your eyes out of the water, breathe to the side and sight only as necessary, but as often as necessary. With practice and implementation on race day, you might find that your new best time is due to swimming a more direct route around the buoy.

Read more here.

This past Saturday was the most intense training weekend we have had so far.

Saturday: Biked 60 miles (2 30-mile loops) up by Westlake Village. The first loop was in the pouring rain and probably not safe. However, we are Ironteam as coaches mention, so we have to train "RAIN OR SHINE". I dig it! There is a point though when you're biking rapidly downhill on a very wet surface and you cannot see that well in front of you because of the raindrops on your sunglasses that you take a moment to ponder whether what you're doing is safe. As the thought crosses your mind and you try to rationalize its consequences, you're more focused on the task at hand: a) slowing down so that you don't crash into the person in front of you b) slowing down so you don't wipe out and crash into the cold asphalt and c) slowing down so cars can see you as you pass by. This all leads to a nice 2-hour first loop. Did I mention the ridiculous hills too? There were probably 3 steep hills on the loop, and going out the first time was okay since I still had fresh legs. By the second loop, I had to leave my biking jacket behind because it was not suited for this weather and soaked up all the rain--leaving me 5 pounds heavier. I was also literally freezing, but the sun started shining at the beginning of the second loop - hallelujah! The second loop was quicker, and I was trying to keep pace with Allan and "big" Carlos, a couple of "beasts" on the team. On the last steep hill around mile 52, I reached a point where I almost could not pedal anymore because of the sharp incline of the terrain. Once I pulled through that, the rest was a blur. We made it back to home base (Westlake Village Shopping Center) in about 1.5 hours - crushed it given the circumstances. Then, we did a transition run for about 15 mins. 4 hours in the books, my friends! As Bobby Cockrill likes to say, "You're Doin' It!"

Sunday: 2,400 yards of poolwork and 11 miles of running. I got it done by around 1pm and was able to get on with my day afterwards.

Training is start to pick up. We have our first open water swim in Palm Springs this Saturday, and then we will be doing the Desert Triathlon the following morning. My first triathlon!!! I'm nervous, but excited.

Go Team!