Family Ironman

History Lesson

Every family is different.  They each have different traditions and ideals that contribute to this world in numerous ways.  Some families even have the good fortune of impacting the world as a whole.  Take Alexander III of Macedon as an example.  You think Alexander the Great just randomly decided one day that he was going to try and take over all much of the Middle East and beyond?  Heck no!  His father and family before him set him up in a way that made all of his accomplishments possible.  It was Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father, not Alexander who built up an army that was nearly unstoppable.  He was also the one, along with his predecessors, who got Alexander into an environment where he was able to receive the necessary training to command an army and run a government.  

Now I'm not belittling what Alexander did, because he was clearly a brilliant commander who knew how to wield the weapon he had been handed.  What I am trying to do is point out how critical our family situation is in deciding what we do in our lives and how successful we may become.  Yes, occasionally there are those success stories of people rising up from the ashes of a broken life, but those stories are often romanticized or are rare in most cases.  Genghis Khan may be one of the few truly "great" people in history who were given nothing and obtained everything upon their own merits.  I mean, he was born in poverty in the harsh climate of the Mongolian steps.  Later on he may have employed some of the most brilliant military minds in history but that just shows how smart he was himself.  He was a brutal, efficient, and magnificent ruler.  No wonder Mongolians today revere him.  His sons were more like Alexander in that they each inherited a piece of an enormous empire with a seasoned military, and that is why they continued to expand long after Genghis Khan was gone.

So your family culture is typically a good indicator of what your life will be like.  Some other great examples of this come from the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell.  In it he describes how Bill Gates was born in the right place at exactly the right time and also into a family that could cultivate the environment necessary for him to become an expert programmer and technologist.  Malcolm also talks about his own family history and how because his mother was "a lighter skinned black woman," living in Jamaica, she was given opportunities that others weren't.  So because of her mixed race and a grandmother who pushed her to get a good education, Malcolm was brought up in a completely different situation than the one his mother grew up in.  This was largely due to the example and influence of his great grandma.  She taught her family to respect others and use their strengths to succeed.

So What?

What do we learn from this?  Simply put, we learn that cultivating a healthy, educative, and productive environment for families provides the best opportunities for each member of that family.  That is why the triathlon lifestyle is so appealing to me.  Its centered around exercise, healthy eating, dedication, and hard work.  All of these things contribute to a good foundation for any family and they are core elements that I want to have when I eventually start my own family.

So after all of that, we get to the whole reason for this post.  The Whitmore Family Ironman!  Collin came up with the idea that each member of our family would complete the full distance in each discipline of an Ironman during the month of March.  This means that each of us will be swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles over the course of one month.  This will be harder for some members of the family than it will be for others, but it's manageable for everyone and in the end we will all be better off and closer for having suffered together.

Here is what our training logs look like:

This is what our cumulative goals and results look like:

Join In

If a family Ironman isn't the thing for your family then find something that is.  You could do a monthly or weekly Temple trip, study different topics together on a certain night, or even do something with a musical performance.  I heard of one father who would pay each child $10 if they exercised more days than he did that week.  He has seven children, so needless to say it was a great motivator for everyone.  Whatever you choose to do, just make it something that will benefit everyone and bring you all closer together.  After all, families are forever.

Wish us luck!  If you have any other family relationship building ideas please leave them in the comments!

Workout Music

Top Songs

Working out often requires good music just to get you through the session.  It's a great distraction from the pain but doesn't take too much of your attention away from what you're doing so you can keep pushing.  We thought it would be good to share our favorite songs with each other and you because you can never have too much music to choose from.  Below are our individual lists.

Andy

1.  "Thrift Shop" - Macklemore

2.  "We Are Young" - Tonight

3.  "Boyfriend" - Justin Bieber

4.  "Living On a Prayer" - Bon Jovi

5. "Don't Stop Believin' " - Journey
6.  "Eye of the Tiger" - Survivor

Isaac

1.  "Dark Horse" - Katy Perry

2.  "Pompeii" - Bastille

3.  "Burn" - Ellie Goulding

4.  "Lost and Found" - Katie Herzig

5. "All Night" - Icona Pop
6.  "Odds Are" - Barenaked Ladies

Steve

1. "Wavin' Flag" - K'Naan

2.  "Lose Yourself" - Eminem

3.  "Sail" - Awolnation

4.  "Coming Home" - Diddy

5. "One Day" - Matisyahu
6.  "My Body" - Young the Giant

Spencer

1. "Choices" - Nero 

2. "Unison" (Kill the Noise Remix) - Porter Robinson

3. "Kill Everybody" - Skrillex

4. "I Will Not Bow" - Breaking Benjamin

5. "Some Chords" - Deadmau5
6. "Till the World Ends" - Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha

Mental Fatigue

Whether it's during a training session or a race, your mental state plays a massive role in how well you perform.  If you feel depressed, unsure, or overwhelmed you will put less effort into your workout than you are actually capable of doing.  A study on fatigue showed that, in general, you can do more than you think you can.  Your body is programmed to preserve itself and it will naturally send signals to your brain and tell you to slow down or take it easy if you are getting close to "overdoing" it.  It's as if it has a fail safe mechanism that triggers when you hit a certain level.  The problem is that after we hit that point we can actually keep going a lot longer before we get into dangerous territory.

That is why it is important to train your mind just as much as you train your body, so you don't have to suffer from mental fatigue.  The professional triathletes have this down pretty well.  At least the really successful ones do.  Chrissie Wellington, for example, would frequently train on a treadmill in a dark, windowless basement without any form of entertainment.  Not only does this help with keeping a quick and efficient running pace, but it gives you a lot of mental toughness.  Then when you're in the middle of a race and you feel like you can't keep going you can think back to those mindless sessions on the treadmill where things were much worse.  It's enough to give you that needed boost to keep pushing hard.

So the key to keeping your mind in shape is to make it work extra hard.  This can be done in many ways.  When it's windy outside, make sure to get out there on your bike and ride...into the wind.  When you only have time to run 4 miles, throw on some ankle weights and let them make you suffer.  If you're going to swim in open water, wait for when it gets choppy (but be safe).  If you're confined to a pool, go all out and do 100x100 laps.  There are myriad ways to turn your workouts into mental exercises, you just have to be a little creative.    

Ultimately, what we all need to remember is that we grow through experiencing trials.  I could quote Kelly Clarkson right here but I won't.  Instead I'll refer you to watch the movie "The Impossible."  It's about a family who goes to the Philippines on vacation for Christmas.  While they are there, the tsunami hits and they get separated from each other.  The rest of the movie is about the trials they face and the impossible odds they overcome.  When I saw this movie it made me think of all the people who have lived through terrible events, both personal and public.  Those people are typically the ones that come out of those times stronger than ever and ready to face any challenge because in their minds they believe they can to anything.  That is where we want to get in our own minds.

Things could definitely be worse

At the Salt Lake Triathlon Club's 2014 kickoff party this last week, the guest speaker talked about "self talk."  Self talk is the non-creepy term for talking to yourself in a positive manner.  Many athletes use it but it is a powerful tool for anyone.  The key is to tell yourself why you can do something and essentially convince yourself that you can.  Because if you believe it, then you should be able to achieve it.  This is something that can be done daily.  I recommend taking the few minutes you have in the shower or your car to practice this.  I know it will benefit you greatly.    

Don't let mental fatigue ruin your race, or test, or whatever else you have to do.  Start preparing your mind and make sure it is properly trained to conquer the challenges you've placed in front of yourself.  If there are other things putting you in a bad mood or making you feel depressed, then take the necessary steps to eliminate those worries from your life.  Your mind is no different than the rest of your body, it too needs to be worked, cared for, and molded in order to be an effective tool.