Ockham’s Razor

Congratulations to Summit Performance Athletes competing in California 70.3 April 2, 2011.
Aleck Alleckson, M35 16/435 racing to a 4:34,  posted a course PR of 11 minutes and an all time run PR of 1:30
David Ciaverella, M45 6/308, 4:34 and a 15 minute course PR on 4th time racing the course
Evan Deutsch, M35 33/435 set his all time PR at 4:49
Thomas Wood, M45 31/308, 5:04 Raced 2 weeks after Boston Qualification at L.A. Marathon
Bob Rakoz, M45 43/308 raced to a 5:13
John Mozena, M55 16/77 All time 70.3 Personal Best of 5:26
David Lowe, M60 9/37 raced to a 5:49 to over-come his race week and race day illness

New Orleans 70.3 April 16, 2011
Bobby Korkow, M25 18/204, 4:01 (Converted race to Duathlon), PR bike 2:28 and run PR

St Croix 70.3 May 6, 2011
Thomas Wood M45 14/44, Good race considering a marathon, and two 70.3 races in about 6 weeks!
Also, congrats to Counterpart coaching Mitch Gold M40 2nd (Kona slot), and his athletes Stacey Stern F40 2nd (Kona slot at Cali 70.3) as well as Mike Montgomery M40 1st (Kona slot)

I was asked by someone…probably the 10th time in the past year, “how the hell do you hold down a full time job, race ironman, and coach 22 athletes”. Well firstly, I have decreased to 22 from 35 last year so I do know…or recognize… my limitations, and last year was just too many. However, 22 seems to be a solid number in which I can not only personally write individual programs for week to week….but can pattern each week based on each athlete’s personal work schedule, vacations, races etc. It struck me when I was asked this because my answer was the same as usual…”well, my job is easy and I can write a few schedules every day while I work”. Well, the fact of the matter is that I haven’t taken a lunch break at work in over 3 years. I write 2-3 schedules during my lunch break and just snack on small nutritious foods throughout the day. Yes I could get in my 5 mile run, even a 15 mile ride or short swim over my lunch periods. But, I choose to partition out this time to coach others, and not on myself. This allows me to get about 12-15 schedules finished for the week and I do a few on the weekends and then have time to download power data,  text, call and email athletes on a continual basis as questions or issues arise. So, it’s quite simple…it’s about choosing how I want to organize my free time.

Parismony
Ockham’s insistence on the use of parsimony (we might call it minimalism) in thought resulted in some later writer’s invention of the term, Ockham’s razor. Among his statements (translated from his Latin) are: “Plurality is not to be assumed without necessity” and “What can be done with fewer [assumptions] is done in vain with more.” One consequence of this methodology is the idea that the simplest or most obvious explanation of several competing ones is the one that should be preferred until it is proven wrong.
Simply stated, given several theories or scenarios to explain a scientific concept, it is typical that the one that provides the most simplistic explanation is correct.

My no-fee nutrition (thanks Jorge Villavicencio for securing a great conference room) lecture given here in Portland a couple of weeks back had a reasonable draw, 45 athletes, as did my follow-up more private lecture to a few pro’s and coaches in the area another 16 athletes. I discussed the Evidence Based science of sports nutrition as I spent about 2 years writing my article consisting of 46 reference research articles spanning the past 2 decades on the topic. Simply speaking, all the bull-shit out there on supplements and other additives to a substrate to “improve exercise” is primarily funded by companies selling a product. Even if this means funding 4 or more “research” studies, then publishing the one study that vaguely suggests some conceivable benefit….were covered. In all this muck of product sales and pseudo-science, Ockham’s razor applies: Glucose, Water and a minimal amount of sodium. These are the three agents that will improve your performance, if used correctly. Too much will have you walking, and too little will have you bonking. The answer lies somewhere between, and yes, it is the most simplistic explanation to exercise performance. Provide your body with the rate limiting agents in exercise, and you will succeed.

It’s  just sad the some still fall for the snake oils and ergogenics, and of course that  magic bullet that others claim will improve our performance.  Google “multivitamins or multiminerals and performance”. You’ll get the first 10 hits on the advantages of potassium, calcium, B12, Niacin, etc etc…and the source is invariably a company selling the product. This is rule one in science: do not accept data from biased sources, or sources that have financial gain off potential results. Sadly, this most basic concept in research has been lost in the sport of Triathlon. I have specifically heard from a top pro in the sport that he has taken 500 calories per hour in an ironman. Another pro I specifically heard at a pre-race meeting state she has taken 1000 grams of sodium per mile during the marathon. This is complete bull shit and it demonstrates the lack of education so prevalent in this sport.  Well, I specifically asked the first pro what he was taking during the ironman of which he stated he took 500 calories per hour on the bike. 1 banana every 45 minutes is not 500 calories per hour I soon discovered upon hearing his explanation.  In fact, he was taking about 200 calories per hour with this strategy which although is on the low side, it is in direct concordance with the repeated research on how quickly world class endurance athletes can uptake glucose into muscle from plasma and produce ATP for energy. Not absorption from the bowel, but actual uptake into muscle from plasma from free blood glucose.
1000 grams sodium? Well, I laughed and got up and walked out on the pre-race talk when I heard this. This was obviously a “drama statement” by this pro who lacks any knowledge of physiology and nutrition. Unfortunately,  I wonder how many athletes took even a morsel of this advice, and ruined their race.
Not only the lack of education, but these pro’s specific lack of even knowing what they were even taking in during their races is a prime example of the myths in our sport.
Sorry to disappoint you.
Hope is not lost however. Educate yourself…and thrive.

Ironman Texas:  prelude
So, I began thinking about Texas in a more serious matter about 2 weeks back. Thus far the season has been focused on this as my key race of course. But, I tend to purposely not think or dwell on my upcoming races. I go out and do the work necessary to prepare me for the training over the month preceding my key race. California 70.3 was a test for me in that it’s always good to race a bit before an ironman just to get into the swing of things again. My fitness for Cali was maybe about 85% so I was happy to set a personal best on that course by nearly 15 minutes after 4 total times racing there. My watts were 7 higher on average than my watts at New Orleans in 2010 (my course record still stands…for one more season), which was about the same time frame before ironman Brazil as Cali is before Texas.
The more encouraging thing for me is the wattage I’ve been putting out over the past week, now 2 weeks leading into Texas is significantly better than pre-California. Meaning…yes I still engage in the seemingly relentless time trials in power zone 4…but…my heart rate has taken a significant dive downward at the same wattage. Yesterday’s 3 x 15 minute at high Z4 left me with an average heart rate in mid z2 and a max heart rate at Z3/4 junction the final 2 minutes of the third interval. Likewise, my running has leaped about 10% to the better side since Cali. Running 10 miles in about 70 minutes with athlete Aleck Alleckson last week with an average heart rate of 116 is very promising. How we felt is the key however, chatting the entire run. The important factor is not just the heart rate lowering over the past couple weeks, but the rapid response of my heart rate. Running long 18 miles last Sunday with Aleck, we engaged in numerous intervals throughout the run and with a base pace of 7:30ish and heart rate of 110-114, within 30 seconds of each interval my heart rate would climb up into the high 130′s (Z3), then stabilize through the interval. After the interval, my heart rate would rapidly fall back into the base line rate within about 30 seconds as we backed off to 7:30 pace. Aleck’s response is nearly identical to mine. In fact I would ask him periodically on our last few runs and rides together what his wattage and heart rate are…and each time they are within 5 watts or 2-3 beats of mine. This is an extreme adaptation for Aleck, especially the heart rate, compared to his prior years.

Adaptation
occurs along the lines of Ockham’s razor. These rules apply in that we are repeating what we have done in the past, the simplistic pattern of training with the hopes of achieving a peak on the correct weekend. The week to week pattern of relentless training in January – March and into early April without over-extending ourselves early in the season has resulted in the high level of fitness now. The ability to mentally withhold throughout the early season and having a mindset of being as precise as possible in all workouts, regarding pacing, wattage, etc will lead to high fitness later. Those who cannot gain this foresight, knowing that a high level of work cannot be sustained over many weeks will typically be in fantastic shape for smaller races, or within a time frame a month or 6 weeks from their key ironman…but will then trickle off and over-step their peak fitness going into race day. Of course I’ve done this myself…but it’s not the mistakes, it’s the ability to learn and adapt from those mistakes. More importantly, it’s about having the ability…or having a coach with the ability…to recognize if and when a mistake is even being made. I believe there is a reason that I’ve helped 14 others get to ironman Hawaii over the past 4 seasons, and these athletes saw an average personal best by 42 minutes in their ironman to get there.  I’ve coached many who haven’t qualified as well, but have also seen 26 ironman personal bests by those along the way. The simple reason is their committment to a program that is proven both subjectively and scientifically. It’s that simple.

Regardless,
its a simplistic pattern. A pattern my coach Olaf has been training me with for now the 5th year. I’ve seen minor tweaks but no significant deviation from the methods in which he taught me back in 2007. The principles are similar, the methods still lead to strong performances at the proper time, and most importantly…follow the guidelines of Parismony.

I could easily over-shoot my peak fitness right now, at which I am probably about 10% more fit then I was a month ago at Cali 70.3, but the key is to hold this for 2 more weeks. This will require my willingness to not give in to the temptations of testing myself by over-stepping my coach’s suggestions for me. My resisting the urge to do that extra set in the pool, tweak my watts up, or increase my pacing on the runs just because I feel great in each and every workout.  There’s a reason I did not race at my peak race weight at California last month. There’s a reason I am 5 lbs lighter now, and will be another 1.5 lbs lighter the week of Texas. This is purposeful, and the pattern that leads me to peak going into my actual key race. This, and the other techniques I am engaging in all lead to (or hope to lead to) a peak performance on key race day…not 6 weeks prior in a test race. These patterns of race prep are deliberate, and typical. Nothing new.

I have had many athletes who have not reached their potential. I have discussed this with them in the past and within a minute or so, I realize they deviated from the plan in some significant pattern that they themselves don’t even recognize. Whether it’s nutrition, recovery, hydration, or workout specifics…it’s nearly always the same. Part of not giving in to that voice in our heads that tells us to do more, or selectively ignore advice that is scientifically sound…it what makes a great athlete. Either an older amateur, or a young elite…the difference is nominal. Each will fail at reaching their potential by not following sound principles.

The answer
is simple, straight forward, and obvious  as Ockham would put it. Trust in the guidance that has been effective for me before. Repeating the formula that works. Not so good races occur of course, as do injuries and sickness. However, knowing I followed the means to the end is satisfying.