Well, in five days I will jump
into Lake Tempe and attempt to complete my fourth Ironman
Triathlon. My hands are sweating just thinking about it!
You would think after completing three Ironman races I would
be pretty calm and confident, but confidence is not one of
my virtues as it relates to races. Honestly I was someone
who would often not meet expectations when it came to “important” athletic
events. As of late, I am glad to say that I have raced to
my potential, setting many personal records (PR’s)
over the last two years.
Here are some of my PR’s:
2005:
Half marathon: 1:35:00
10K: 38:45
5K: 18:44
NOTE: (I have not done these races since 2005)
2006:
Half Ironman: 5:17:00
(qualified me for national championship)
Ironman Florida 12:11:00
(lowered my PR by 57 minutes.
It is now 2007. What will happen? Who knows? The Ironman race is a long
race. A lot has to go right to set a PR. First, you have to do the training.
I have done the training! I have cycled in the snow; cycled in the rain; cycled
for 5 hours plus at a health club because of the snow. (Yes, that was lots of
fun!) I ran in below zero wind chill weather—13.8 miles to be exact! I
rode 100 miles and ran 27.1 miles in one weekend. At the end of the running that
day, I was still going at a pretty good pace (under 10 minutes/mile).
To do well in the Ironman, you also have to taper. I
stopped exercising one week ago. I do a longer no-exercise-taper
than most people. I don’t exercise for about two weeks
prior to Ironman. That is how long it takes for me to get my
energy back. So I swam with Allan, my training partner 8 days
ago. Then I stopped exercising. I have been getting good sleep
(8 hours plus per night) everyday and it has taken the full
8 days for me to get the majority of my energy back. This is
the first day I have felt energized. I didn’t even think
about having a cup of coffee today because I didn’t need
it! I still have five more days to do no exercise. So hopefully
even more energy will come back!!!
So what else is under my control? Oh yes, my venous
blood pH. Since Tempe, Arizona will be hot, I want my blood
pH low at race time. Normal venous blood pH is 7.420 to 7.440.
My blood pH Monday was 7.396. I would like it about 7.380.
So I will check it again tomorrow and see where I am.
I am getting nutritional IVs here at the office. I had my second one today. What
did I get? Vitamin C. “For what?” you ask. To lower my blood pH
even more. I also added some magnesium, because my serum magnesium was a little
low. I also received a glutathione IV, which is the main intracellular antioxidant
and has been shown, at least in case studies, to help athletes. My thoughts are
that the training depleted my antioxidant reserves and the race will also deplete
it, so getting my antioxidant reserves up is a good idea.
What else do I need to do? Well, I have been doing
it. I am helping myself get mentally ready. Most first-time
Ironman participants do not understand how mentally taxing
swimming 2.4 miles, cycling for 112 miles, and then running
a marathon is. At the race start and during the majority of
the race, you need to be mentally relaxed. So I have been relaxing
mentally. I have also been reading books on mentally preparing
for races which involves trying to stay positive and mentally
rehearsing the race. I am a neophyte in this part of being
an athlete, but I am getting better.
I have to review my race strategy, much of which will occur when I see the course.
I can’t visualize the course or even the actual swim completely accurately
because I don’t know what it looks like. I will spend the day before the
event mostly in my hotel room, watching TV and rehearsing the race in my mind.
I won’t be fretting or worrying about things because that just zaps energy.
I am also, with Marion’s help, relaxing a lot at home. Relaxing before
an Ironman is key. Many first time participants try to cram in more training.
My personal opinion is that everyone needs rest before the Ironman. I think they
need more rest than they actually take. Six months or one year of training wears
the body down. I have rested for one full week and today is the first day I feel
like I could complete the Ironman!
What does it all mean? Like all “important” events,
it is key that we don’t overestimate its importance.
If everything goes wrong or something goes wrong during the
event, I will still be Ross Hauser. My wife will still be by
my side. My cat, Squeaky will still want me to play with her
and pet her when I get home. My friends and family will still
love me. I will still be a doctor and do Prolotherapy (which
I love). My training partners will still want me to “hammer” with
them. I will still get to train with my wife (looking forward
to that). Most of all, in the sight of God, He sees me as His
child and loves me even to the point of the death, that is
death on the cross.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Until I see you at the finish line…
RH |
