Training (Finally!)

Time to talk training (I know - finally!).  This is a long post (though I'm generally long-winded), so appologies in advance.  But approaching discussions about training require caution.  I've gone round and round in my head as to how to approach this topic.  First (across the next several posts), we will talk about the various aspects training requires.  Future postes will delve more specificity into what I do in training for my races (Kona included!).  I caution those  investigating how to do an IM to avoid confusing someone else's goals with their own.  I train the way I do because of the background, desire, and hopes that I have revolving around Ironman.  An IM "hopeful" should definitely not train the way I do, as they would likely get hurt, just as I would get hurt or sick training like Craig Alexander ("Crowie" - a 3-time IM World Champion and course record holder).   Construct your personal training  program based on your goals, experience, fitness, and desire.  If you need help, ask someone with experience, or hire a coach.

Training for an Ironman (IM) requires a mixture, or "recipe" of commitment, time, energy, intensity, discipline, sleep, nutrition, mental tenacity, and perhaps most importantly, well-chosen expectations.  The exact mixture of ingredients depends heavily on your goals - maybe finish your first IM (or triathlon, for that matter), set a new Personal Record (PR), place in your division, or maybe even win the whole race and be World Champion - and anywhere between.  

Today let's tackle the first 3:  Commitment, Time, and Energy.  I'll address them all in the next few blogs, and then give a basic outline of my historical training plan, and finally the recent training plan - taking into account MS, family, and work - things that add to the complexity of life after 40!

Commitment:  Finishing an IM requires an athlete to complete 2.4 miles of swimming, followed immediately by 112 miles of cycling, followed immediately by 26.2 miles of running all in under 17 hours (race starts at 7am with the course closing at midnight the same day)  Why these distances?  In 1978, the founders of the Ironman, living in Hawaii, took 3 existing competitions and just put them together:  The Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4miles), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (112mi), and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2mi).  Crazy to some - enticing to me (and many others).   Finishing, while not a small feat, is less difficult than one might expect.  I say this based on many many athletes who, after finishing their first IM, tell me, "You were right, that wasn't as bad as I expected."  If you've never done an IM, keep that in mind as you weigh the sanity of those toeing the starting line.  But one certainly needs to commit to the mixture needed to accomplish their respective goals.  This October, IM World Championships will be my 17th IM, and my 6th race in Kona itself after qualifying 9 times.  Thus while finishing the race serves as the fundamental goal, the main goal revolves around setting a new personal course record in Kona - currently 9:25 for me, set back in 2006 - you read that right - before all this MS stuff got started.  My family (one of the best in the world!) fully supports the effort, and that support deserves lofty goals.  Check that ingredient off:  I (we!) are committed!

Time:  A portion of commitment encompasses the understanding that doing all this training will require a certain amount of time - swimming, cycling, running, eating, sleeping, showering (something my family and co-workers find particularly beneficial), day-in and day-out for months at a time (or years, in my case).  How much time?  There begins the differences between how I train, and how most people train to race an Ironman.  I am known as a "minimalist" trainer.  I don't mean footwear, I mean time.  My overall hourly volume of training falls on the lower (and in some cases, lowest) range of what most anticipate being required to finish, let alone race, an Ironman.  Most folks "in the know" would probably suggest 18-23hrs per week of swimming, biking, and running during the last 10 weeks or so of IM prep.  Prepping for IM New Zealand this past March, where I finished in 9:33 - my 4th fastest IM ever - I trained an average of 11.7hrs during the final 10 weeks of IM prep.  My longest week was under 14hrs.  That's what I mean by a "minimalist" trainer.  

The trade-off comes in the form of intensity, which we will talk about another time.  But suffice to say that I train at a high intensity.  I occasionally train with some of the local pro triathletes here in Portland, Oregon, and one made the comment that what I'm doing is really pro-level training.  I countered that the workouts may be at that level (at least biking and running - I won't kid myself about my swimming capabilities!), the underyling easy miles don't exist in my program.  The extra 10 hours/week of training that would get added to my program, were I to have the time, would come in the form of base-level effort rather than high intensity.  I guess you could say that I'm on the "Pro-lite" program.  Perhaps that's why I have the endearing nickname, "Semipro."  Thanks, Team Psycho...  But the time expectations are in line with past IM training programs.  I know what to expect there.  Check that ingredient off:  time.  And a huge thank you to my wife and son for the family committment noted above, granting me that time.

Energy:  By "energy", I do not mean the effort put into a given workout - "intensity" -   but rather having  the energy to successfully accomplish the workout(s) for that day.   Quick physiology tip of the day:  you get faster when you rest.  Training, the stimulus, breaks the body down - physically, by damaging various cells in the body; nutritionally, by using up fuel and hydration resources;  and mentally, by inducing some amount of central fatigue.  Each of these topics reach way beyond the scope of today's entry.  Take home the notion that training just breaks you down.   Recovery allows reformation of damaged cells, rehydration and topping off stored fuel sources, and regenerating the ability to harness the mental tenacity to successfully tackle the next workout.  Anyone can train hard, and train themselves straight into injury, or worse, burnout.  One of the big keys, in my mind, to longevity of a training and racing career revolves around appropriate recovery strategies.  I have used RestWise (www.restwise.com) for several years now, and found it a helpful objective tool to guide my decisions for completing, modifying, or sometimes just bailing on the scheduled workout of the day.  Experience plays a huge role in determining those decisions as well, but RestWise helps.

Enter multiple sclerosis:  the biggest complaint I have about MS (and one of the most common compliants associated with MS) is fatigue.  While hard to explain - and I don't know that it can be well-explained so chime in if you have a better explanation - reminds me of "food narkiness".  We have all experienced that point at which hunger turns sharply into downright nastiness - our temper flares, and we want nothing other than food - NOW!   My fatigue is something like that.  I will go from generally being tired and wanting a nap to suddenly being annoyed, angry, and needing a nap.  Ironically, when training hard, those naps tend to be shorter (30-40min) than when I'm in a rest week, or taper, or off-season (1-1.5hrs).  I used to like to take naps because they helped.  My wife suggested I accept that I need to take a nap every day.  And while overall, I think it's helped my general attitude, I have come to resent the need for these naps.  My doctor - a sports medicine specialist, nutritionist, and generally really smart guy - believes that I need shorter naps when training because I sleep harder at night.  That seems to make sense.  I still don't like needing to sleep in the parking lot of my gym before a pool workout just so I can get through it.  But there you have it.  That has been my solution to making sure I have the energy to tackle the day's workout:  naps.  Love them or hate them, I need them.  Add that to the time needed catagory, and commit.

Speaking of which...  nap time.  Thanks for reading and supporting the cause!

Good Training, and Good Night!

Father's Day (a couple days early)

Wow folks!  We've managed to raise over $2000 so far for research on Multiple Sclerosis.   Help the Fight Against Multiple Sclerosis  Thank you so much for your remarkable support, and please keep spreading the word!

So Sunday is Father's Day.  That day has become much more special to me since my son came along 4 years ago.  Today I'd like to pay tribute to my own father, who I believe deserves much of the credit for my life-long pursuit of racing.  You see, he ran my first road race with me 38 years ago.  That one -mile race might have been my best shot at a world record, as I finished in under 20 minutes.  Not bad for a 2 year old.  And while I don't remember it, he swears I ran the whole way by myself - and we weren't last across the finish line.

Growing up in the 70's at the dawn of the running "boom", I remember going to road races with my father and watching him racing from the side of this road, and that road.  I remember some of the scenes of races that I ran myself as well.  In particular I remember running down a road through a forest with tall trees all around, but not much underbrush.  You could see down the road a ways, even though it was winding through the woods.  I still think of that race sometimes - it was such a peaceful run.  In my memory it was snowing, though I don't know if that's something I added as time has gone on - funny how memories work sometimes.

I recall numerous runs I'd go on with my father.  We lived on a street in Newtown, CT (yes - that Newtown) that was exactly 1 mile long.  He would head out on his runs, and then I would join him later for a lap.  Sometimes he would keep running after that, and sometimes he would finish with me. Other times we would run at the track.  It was there he said to me one day, "You don't always get the best improvements in your running by sprinting the end of every training run."  I literally thought about that particular advice last week for some reason.    Funny how memories work sometimes, indeed.

I haven't uttered that to my son yet, but I will at some point.  For my little guy right now it's more on the lines of "Sprinting at the start isn't always the fastest way to do your race."  He's fairly accomplished for a kid who just turned 4.  He's done 2 KiddieCross races (cyclocross bike races for little folk) and 3 running races.  He's very excited to do his first triathlon in Bend, OR in 2 weeks - the Splash, Pedal and Dash as part of the Pacific Crest Triathlon weekend festival.   I don't know that he will grow up to be a runner, a triathlete, a soccer player, or a couch potato.  What I do know is that because my Dad took the time to run with me while I was growing up, I was able to see how much fun it could be.  I still do (though for the record,  I like cycling more).  I do hope my son grows up to be half the man my Dad is - that would be a success in my mind.

Thank you , Dad.  I wouldn't be who I am today without you.  Happy Father's Day.

Why Race with Multiple Sclerosis

People tell me I'm extraordinary for doing what I do, given that I have MS.  I have always found that an odd comment.  I did my first triathlon in 1992 - Colorado's Longmont Triathlon still exists today!  Since then, I've raced at the collegiate national level (go CU Buffs!), the amateur national and world championship level, and the Ironman (IM) world championship level.  I've started - and finished -  16 Ironman races in 4 countries: the US, Canada, Switzerland, and most recently New Zealand this past March.  My fastest IM (9:10)  came in 2005 at Ironman Florida. 

I put this brief resume out there to illustrate what I hope people understand about me:  that I give it my all at races despite having MS.  Put another way, MS hasn't changed what I expect out of myself any more than any other barrier to training - family, friends, work, cooking, eating, sleeping, injury, rehab, body maintenance work.  The perception of these barriers takes on a positive or negative connotation in our own view.  I will look at an injury as a negative, of course, but having an injury may or may not limit my training - it depends on the injury. But I guarantee you that I (and just about any other competition-driven individual out there) would do the same - train as hard as reasonable given the circumstances.  Why should MS change that attitude?

In fact, I'd argue that it should, if anything, reinforce that attitude.  The stronger and more coordinated I am, the better.  The higher my level of endurance, the better.  The tougher mentally I am, the better.  MS is only, inevitably, going to strip those away from me.  The higher I set the bar now, the farther the bar can fall before it hits the bottom.  To this day I think one of the main reasons I stayed out of a wheelchair in 2008 when I had transverse myelitis is because I was so strong and had such good endurance to begin with - because getting up a single flight of stairs just about did me in each time.  Getting the mail certainly did.  

MS has changed the way I approach training.  I need naps now (rather than enjoy naps).  I stretch more. I have a renewed (and thankfully lasting) interest in lifting - I do a lot of TRX and kettle bell work now.  I wish I had done it years ago - it makes that much of a difference.  I swim generally two times per week now instead of three, because the gym work more than makes up for it in core strength, endurance, and coordination.  So, in a way, I suppose I need to thank my MS for that.  Never thought I'd say that...

It should not go unstated that I am truly thankful to have an understanding wife - and let me tell you that is the understatement of the day.  Micha has done 8 IM's herself, including a trip to Kona after qualifying at IM Wisconsin in 2006.  She understands why I do what I do.  She understands what it means to me to continue pushing myself to my limit.  She gives me permission to continue fighting, in no small part because she also realizes that I may not be able to do this when I'm 70 like I always thought I could.  Without her support, my goals and aspirations would fall apart.  Indeed, much of my ability to suffer well out there on the race course comes from thinking about whether she would keep pushing in my shoes - and she most certainly would.  So while I still can, I'll just continue to do what I've always done - race hard, race well, and (fingers crossed) race fast.

Good Training, and Good Night!

Next up:  Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon - this Sunday (6/9/2013)!

OHSU MS Research Center - Making a Difference in the Lives of Those with MS

The Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) has a top-notch MS Research Center.  This is one of the primary reasons I have chosen to raise funds for them (donate to the cause here: http://bit.ly/11jTDEA and thank you!).  You will see that much of their research gets started with support from folks just like you and I.  Without it, the research into MS might not ever get off the ground.  The OHSU MS Center has had a number of accomplishments this last year. I would like to highlight three.

First, they were awarded a $3 million grant by the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a trial of RTL1000 in secondary progressive MS.  RLT1000 was invented at OHSU by research scientists Drs. Arthur Vandenbark, Gregory Burrows and Halina Offner.  This novel therapy controls disease causing white blood cells and enters the brain and spinal cord where it can control special cells called microglia which we believe causes injury in progressive MS.  Importantly, philanthropic gifts were important to the early development of RTL1000 and would not have been invented without these early gifts.  There are a number of things they need to do before the clinical trial of RTL1000 can move forward, including getting permission from the FDA to do the trial, and they hope to start the clinical trial in late 2013.

Second, they have continued to make progress on developing a drug that can protect mitochondria from injury.  They believe that such a drug would be beneficial in all forms of MS, including progressive disease.  With support from the NIH, they screened over 600,000 different small molecule drugs and identified about 30 that looked promising.  These drugs are now being tested in the laboratory of a collaborator, Dr. Paolo Bernardi at the University of Padua.  His testing will identify the most promising 3-4 drugs.  OHSU plans to test these in the mouse model of MS in mid to late 2013.  Philanthropic support was important to their initial research that led to their discovering the mitochondrial “target” for these new drugs.

Third, they are nearing completion of the first ever clinical trial of a low fat vegan diet for MS using brain MRI as the primary measure of effectiveness of the diet.  This complicated trial involves over 50 people with MS.  The last volunteer exits the trial next March and they should have initial data on the trial toward the middle of 2013.  This trial is being supported entirely by the McDougall Foundation using gifts made to the foundation to support diet research.  They also completed their first 8-week wellness program for people with MS, called Living Brain Wellness.  This pilot program was a tremendous success with 15 people finishing the program.  The participants were extremely enthusiastic and were experiencing a variety of health benefits from the program.  They want to expand this approach to as a way to give people with MS the “tools” they need to improve their general health.  They believe this will also benefit their MS and plan on studies to establish this.  This is a unique approach to MS that is not being pursued by other traditional MS Centers.

 

I find the dual role the OHSU plays in not only delving into cutting edge research, but also into practical application of strategies that those with MS can apply now.  Something like altering your diet (possibly completely) requires quite a bit of effort and support - and the OHSU MS Center helps out tremendously.

Beginning Today

The crusade against Multiple Sclerosis begins today.

This is not the first, by any means.  Many others have started on this journey before me.  But today, I start my own effort to make a difference.

Hello. My name is Chris Ramsey.  I have multiple sclerosis.  I initially started down the road in 2008 with transverse myelitis.  All signs came back at that point indicating that MS was just a matter of time.  I started on MS medications (Copaxone) within 2 months of developing TM.  Clinical diagnosis of MS came 3 years later.

Hello. My name is Chris Ramsey.  I am an elite age-grouper triathlete.  I have qualified for the Ironman World Championships 9 times.  This October I will return to Kona, HI to compete there for the 6th time.  As always, I hope to do better than ever before (117th overall in 2006).  This will be my 3rd time racing there since I started down the road of MS (2009, 2011, and 2013). 

Hello.  My name is Chris Ramsey.  I am asking for your support to alter the course of Multiple Sclerosis in our world.  I am dedicating my Ironman World Championships race this October to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis, who it affects, what it can does, and how I've coped with it.  I am trying to raise funding to research ways to combat this debilitating disease.  I am trying to make it something one can only read about in a history book.

Hello.  My name is Chris Ramsey.  I would be honored if you would follow my story and help this journey affecting so many of those around me and around you.  Are you up to the challenge?

Please visit http://bit.ly/11jTDEA and contribute today

Good Training, and Good Night!