A triathlete went to her coach and told her about her training and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of all the training, the pain, the early hours and fighting her body. She was struggling in the water, hurting on the bike and, suffering during the run. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her coach took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her triathlete, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her coach brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.

The coach then asked the triathlete to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the coach asked the triathlete to sip the coffee. The triathlete smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The triathlete then asked, "What does it mean, coach?"

Her coach explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

Which are you?" she asked her triathlete. "When things get hard, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which are you?

Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength?

Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?

Did you have a fluid spirit, but after a struggle, some pain or some other trial, have you become hardened and stiff? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside is it bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Or is the the moral of this story that we all need to spend more time in the Hot Tub?

Anthony Epp
www.ironcopsbc.com

T-minus 157 days and counting... That's 22 weeks + change!

I managed to get out for that swim on Thursday at 9:30pm... After watching the hockey game with my brother and having a pint of beer, I was definitely thinking that the evening was over. I was on my way home, and just thought over and over "I'll swim tomorrow, I'll swim tomorrow" in my head...
Then, I just decided that it was time to go to the pool. I will say that after a beer and being tired, this was not my greatest swim. Sometimes you just want to zone out and see if you can get into a rhythm, but I just couldn't. Plus, in UBC pool there is a light at the end of the lane that just fogs up everything, making it difficult to see what is in front of you as you approach it, so you have to be aware.
I finished my swim at 10:30pm or so, and then it REALLY was time to go home. Normally I spend a couple of wind-down hours responding to e-mails, creating new e-mails, getting on MSN and chatting with friends, etc. Not Tuesday, though. I was basically passed out before I walked into my bedroom.
I am resigned to the sacrifice of early nights now and making sure I get sleep. I know when I am unbalanced in this department because I start to feel a cold coming on, and I have been fighting it off for a couple of days. I'll tell you, this Cold FX is a miracle sometimes!

I now have two half Ironman races set up in preparation for the Ironman in August. I will be racing Victoria on June 18th and Osoyoos on July 9th. If I have a choice to race one and use the other as a training race, I will focus on Victoria as the "race", and Osoyoos as a preparation exercise (focus on pacing, nutrition, etc.).

With all this in mind, I have decided that Sunday night will be a budget-night. Really, the Ironman can wind up costing upwards of $10,000 for the year when you consider everything (and that's not even with a new bike). I have a five month window of time from now until the race where I have to consider how much this will be costing. Fortunately the races are paid for, and one night in Penticton already :)... This isn't cheap and I would consider a second job except that I can barely find any time right now as it is... Hmm, I think I need to go for my tax refund now!

Sleepy days, early nights, early mornings...

I am sitting at work drinking a green tea now, as I have pledged to reduce my coffee "levels" and get some more anti-oxidants into my system. Somebody mentioned green tea was good for that!

Last night, at my spin workout, I realized that I was able to push my effort a little higher than I have been in the past. My heart rate got as high as 178 bpm during a couple of the sets, which is a far cry from the 155 bpm I think I was able to push a year ago. I can attribute this to my winter base training which has really helped me build a stronger engine for biking. In the past, I have been leary of riding. When given the option, I would go to a run any day and twice on Sunday (literally). I think it came down to just not being comfortable enough to push it on the bike.

But each week, I push a little harder and hold the pace a little more, challenging myself to see just how far I can take it before I have to back off. Again, fear comes into my thoughts... But I am not sure what I am afraid of. If I "bonk", I bonk, right? But I don't think that's the fear that I have had. I am not sure what it is... So, instead of fretting over that little voice that says "hold back", I am simply repeating the words "keep going", and letting the outcome speak for itself rather than living out all the possible problems associated with keeping a difficult pace.

In many ways, I am beginning to look forward to the bike as a way to push and challenge myself further and further. I have that same sense with running a hill workout or a speed workout, but I have not felt that way on a bike before. Maybe it really is about the bike, now!

"We are forced to see the sun rise in order to get our training in"

Striving for change, transformation and metamorphosis, we all set out on our personal quests to achieve a new state of reality for ourselves. This is what ironman can be about... Not just a self-inflicted process of pain and sacrifice, but a real vehicle to achieve higher callings...

This is the message brought to us by Andy Everson in his print "Flight", a limited edition artwork commissioned for the IronCops for Cancer program. On Friday night we were part of a fundraising event at the Inuit Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver where this print was unveiled.

Many thoughts are brought to mind from this message. I have to say I have been lamenting on it for the past few days, realizing that my own inspiration comes not from the desire to accomplish a time goal, or even to finish. I think my inspiration comes from the desire to see what I become as a result of the effort and dedication I put into this. Transforming from a dormant "mortal" into an athletic machine capable of this quest, it means more about overcoming obstacles, feelings of inadequacy, failure, disappointment, and moving forward towards becoming re-newed again...

In many ways, I already feel as though I have transformed. I am not the same person I was four years ago when I first attempted the Ironman. I've faced the reality of having to say "I can't" because of an injury setback. The heart-ache of realizing such a "failure" had affected me in so many ways that I didn't imagine. Only looking back at that time can I really see how every setback, every heartbreak along the way has become part of my inspiration. Facing personal issues with family illnesses at the same time, I put all of that into every workout. Especially my bike rides, where gliding peacefully along the road I can bring all my frustrations and put them in front of me as I ride effortlessly past them, bidding them a fond farewell and looking forward to the next challenge.

"Flight" has reminded me to soar above life's drama so that I can see what thoughts lead to greater purpose and what thoughts lead to dead ends. All these paths become very simple when you can see the finish line from above, instead of trying to guess how far you have to go still.

Happy Training!
www.ironcopsbc.com (to see the print!)

"You have a crack in your frame"...

To a triathlete, that is like hearing the bad news from the doctor. And this is the report I received yesterday as I received the call from Dizzy Cycles telling me that my bike was ready after I had brought it in for a tune-up.
Frightening...
Scary...
And all of a sudden, Ironman seems to feel like it's going to cost a lot of money again!

This bike, a GT 3.0 Road Bike that I picked up at John Henry Cycles in North Vancouver in 2002, has seen me through the best of my bike times and the worst... Actually, more the best of times. When I first purchased this bike, I had a wonderful purple bike that I had bought used on the advice of a friend. "Purple" is a little generous... It was not that masculine a colour, let's just say.
It was also heavy and had old-style down-tube shifters that made life difficult, AND it was a constant reminder of my first duathlon at the Bare Bones Duathlon in 2002 which really let me know that I had no idea what I was doing on a bike.
Anyway, when I purchased my yellow beauty it was the beginning of my love affair with a bike. There is something to be said about getting a bike that you REALLY want to ride, and this is one that I really enjoy riding. It's not flashy, and it's really not much of a name brand. Just a simple, aluminum frame and a whole lot of miles underneath. A trip to California last summer for the Half Vineman in Sonoma made for my first non-Canadian triathlon ever, and I am set to take it to California with me in May when I take a one-week vacation to Santa Barbara.

So, yesterday, upon hearing the 'news', I pondered life without.... They tell me there is hope, that it probably will be fine, but I also know that it may be time soon to go for an upgrade and seek out a replacement.

I am a sentimentalist at heart. It's not about the bike (with apologies to Lance), but really that bike represents a lot of good moments in my life, and I can't imagine letting it go so quickly. I still have the running shoes I wore for the 2001 Vancouver marathon where I first realized I had a shot at qualifying for Boston. They are an old Asics Gel Kayano for heavy overpronators... And I ran a 3:17 in them... They remind me of a time when a) I was "heavy' and b) I was an overpronator. They also remind me of the moment I felt like I really enjoyed running for the first time, when I felt like I was "made to run". It's not my fastest time, nor are they the lightest shoes, but they are symbolic of a turning point in my life.

So, we'll see what happens with the ol' GT. From the 'word' of the doctors at Dizzy, we'll get it through to the Ironman, but it may be time to retire it after that. So, now, this summer IS about the bike!

Shoot, it's just a piece of welded aluminum, right?

Keep to the right of the road!

One of my new inspirations comes from Cindy Klassen, the 5-medal winner at this year's Winter Olympics for Canada.

Did anybody see her out there? This woman exemplified what I believe to be a champion as both a person and an athlete.

Her approach? Hard work, determination, competitiveness for sure... But also her deeply routed belief in herself, in her faith, and in the reality that this whole sports thing is just an outlet for inspiration, but not life itself... Honestly, she was no different 1 week after the event than she was before the Olympics, except now she had some heavy medals around her neck.

I am not usually one to bring "faith" into the picture, especially when talking in religious terms. I have often held that faith is a personal decision and a personal choice between you and that which you hold as your spiritual path. There are so many roads to inspiration and to belief that I am not going to trumpet the merits of any of them.

However, Cindy Klassen being a Mennonite, which is also my background, I was somewhat moved to here about her perspective and motivations.

If anything, I have learned that we all have gifts to use as we choose. I think what is motivating is to use your gifts to do something that matters in the world. Since this story is about athletics, I believe that we all have the opportunity to compete in these Ironman-type events in order to serve higher purposes. They are not the end-all of life pursuits, but merely vehicles to bring the world together or people together.

Getting back to the here and now, my training week was fairly solid. I had some heavier swimming days (2500+) on Tuesday and Thursday. Until now, those swims were really "run recovery" swims, but with the increase in distance I am now finding that throwing them in right after a run is proving a little tiring. So, I'm going to rework my time so that I give a little distance between the run and the swim. Since Thursdays have become higher intensity runs, I think I will swim early in the morning then to ensure I am properly recovered and can stretch out after the run properly. On Tuesday's, I'll flip it around and run in the morning so that I can swim in the evening.

I have received my blood lactic test results, so now I can start using those in my biking workouts. Actually, looking at those results has inspired me to use a heart rate monitor more on my runs. Even though I am a good judge of my effort, yesterday I used the heart rate monitor to ensure that I kept myself in a base training zone. I did find that I was running a little too hard on Sundays.

One thing I have been tackling with in my head is my approach to the Vancouver Marathon. Initially I had planned to use this race as a shot for a personal best, but I am so much more focused on the Ironman this year, and I don't want a hard running schedule to impact my training for Ironman. So, with some input from my coach and others, I have decided to run the marathon, but to focus on an Ironman pace that I think I can hold, and maybe even throw a short bike ride in the day before. This really means letting go of a performance-centered goal and trusting that my effort will lead to a stronger Ironman performance. But focus is focus, and if my goal really is a strong Ironman performance then the marathon has to be approached as a preparation race.

I suppose this choice is one we all face in different ways... What do I put my focus on now? What is most important to me? And not just in our athletic pursuits, but in our lives...

There is no thrill in Ironman...

This is not an adrenaline-junky hobby. It is not hockey. It is not skydiving.

The Ironman is a journey of 2000 soldiers, each brought together by their own motivations and desires to the same starting point, at the same time. And, when the gun goes off (really, the only indicator that this is, in fact, a race) it begins anew with 2000 stories written, each with a slightly different ending, but each an integral plotline in this day that tortures and rewards all at the same time.

Think about it... Is there anything REALLY exciting about the Ironman other than the anticipation before the start of the race? Not really... And if that is the excitement, then 12 months of solid training leading up to that one moment before the cannon goes off where you say to yourself "I'm ready to do this... Let's roll!" seems like a lot of work for a very minute reward.

So, what joy is there in this sport if not excitement?

Somebody answer that for me... Because I am wondering the same thing... And yet, I can't not do it!

After a rough weekend of business travel where there was little time for any training, I am back on my schedule.
I had anticipated this weekend trip to Kamloops for a couple of weeks, so I tried to structure my training schedule around it. So, I rode on Friday instead of Saturday and had planned to do a run on Sunday. The run never happened, so instead I received 2 days of no exercise. I have to admit, that drove me somewhat nuts. It felt good to get on the bike trainer on Monday and just spin out a 50 minute workout, and then hit the gym for boxing. By the end of Monday night I realized that those two days off were more mental than physical, as I felt great and actually was able to compete a little harder with the extra energy. The moral of the story? Take a day off every once and a while and recharge.
So far, Friday's are my non-exercise days. Which isn't to say I do nothing... I just simply am supposed to take that day to recover and not do any running, biking or swimming. I have been taking a yoga class on Fridays every so often which I think is a perfect way to relax, stretch out and mentally focus on other things.
Now comes the ultimate "sacrifice" for me... Going to bed earlier... I am, by habit, a nocturnal night owl. I have trouble going to bed before 11pm most nights, but as the training goes further and further I know I will need to. It means sacrificing my Daily Show fix each night unless I can get one of those DVD recorders so that I can watch it in the morning or something... I wonder if that can be considered an Ironman expense?
That's it for today. I have a spin workout tonight and then it is off to bed at...... well, I'll try for 10:30pm.