Triathlon (in)Sanity

2 deaths during the NYC Triathlon this year. Tragic. Should not happen. Now politicians are getting involved. Scott Stringer called for a top to bottom review of the races safety measures. Maybe that's a good thing. I don't know what will end up changing if anything. I am not going to speculate on that. I am also not going to criticize the race organizers. In this case there was literally an army of support personnel all along the swim course.

Before I go any further with my emotion filled "analyses", let me say that the two deaths and what I saw as a spectator that I will write about may have nothing to do with each other. A heart attack is unpredictable and very very hard to react to when in the water.  My point is along the lines of self responsibility.

Yes, the Hudson is filthy, disgusting, choppy, lots of debris, heavy currents, so when you swim with hundreds around you it's not the most pleasant swim of your life. After I saw some of my team mates off at the start I started walking south along the water, watching the swimmers. And I was terrified at what I saw. Shocked.

I was watching the back of the pack "swimmers" struggling through the chop. And struggle is an understatement. In general you don't want to struggle during a triathlon swim, especially in the Hudson. The amount of people I saw who couldn't swim at all was astounding. They clearly entered the race thinking the tide wil get them to the finish. But they even had trouble treading water, staying afloat in a wetsuit!!

Come on now. I respect that people want to prove something for somebody, raise money, be extraordinary. But at the risk of drowning? I'm sorry but that is pathetic. The Hudson is not for beginners. Period.

Once again, I am not talking about the two deaths. Those may have nothing to do with skill level.

But, as I am walking and thinking that these people in the back do not belong in that water no matter what, I see a woman on her back, just floating. There are many who "swim" on their backs, but this woman was not moving at all. In fact her head was bobbed back, submerged. Uh oh. I immediately whistled (loud) at the kayakers and started screaming at them to help the woman. Two "competitors" then stopped swimming and held her up, she was completely out of it. OH NO!

A kayaker finally got there but seemed to not know what to do. He tried to pull her up on the kayak. They flipped over. The woman, the 2 good Samaritan swimmers and the kayaker all went under. After a few seconds they came back up. The woman was not breathing, if anything took on more water. A spectator next to me and I were both yelling 'she needs mouth to mouth, cpr right away!'. By now the life guard on a jet ski was making his way over. They struggled a bit to pull her on the back then they sped off to a nearby boat. Still no CPR. My heart is pounding as the seconds are ticking away and they seem like hours. I keep walking, following the action. Another person gets on the back of the jet ski, off the boat, and starts working on her. Finally! At this point the jet ski is flying downstream towards the docks. But at least CPR has started. To be sure, it took a few minutes from the time I spotted her to the time she was getting CPR. But I'm not sure, time seemed to be dragging miserably. I think the safety people did all they could. It's almost impossible to provide CPR in the water, the kayak is not suitable to lay somebody down on top of.

This poor lady fought for her life for another day or so but unfortunately she passed away the next day. My heart sank when I heard the news. I wish I could have seen her sooner. Or if somebody else saw her sooner.

Later that day I heard about the 2nd death. Apparently also a heart attack. The 64 year old man was a friend of a friend. Having some kind of connection to both people really shook me up. I guess that's why I am writing about it now, have to get it off my chest.

This friend of mine, who has done this race 5 times, had a good point. The kayakers cannot see well who is struggling in the water. There were a few life guards along the walkway, but maybe not enough of them? Maybe next time they should have more spotters on shore, on the walkway that is high up and one can have a better view. I also think if kayakers had the ability to perform CPR effectively, chances of saving somebody's life could go up. Having said that, once a person is in cardiac arrest, help has to arrive whithin seconds. If the person doesn't get immediate help, chances of survival drop dramatically. In an open water swim, I think it's almost impossible to provide immediate help.

But back to my original point. These fatal incidents of course anger people and politicians have to elbow themselves in the middle of it and show "authority". I am assuming they don't know much about triathlons and what it takes to complete one, or race in one. They immediately turn to the organizer to point fingers.

I think we have to take a pause here and consider the situation objectively. Triathlon is still a brand new sport for many, it's the fastest growing sport and besides gold, the only 'bull market' out there at the moment, lot's of people trying to make money off of it. So the growth, the fire, has to be stoked to keep it going, create a massive, social affair out of it that draws just about anyone in. The smell of money blurs people's vision. I know I worked on Wall Street for 15 years. There are no standards as to who enters a triathlon. What are their abilities. Do the organizers have to know? There's that waiver that takes care of this issues. Let them come and sign up. Maximizing profits is definitely a key factor. After all, we are talking about New York! To the NYC Tri's defense, while they let just about anyone enter, they do beef up the security and safety personnel a lot more than I have seen at any other race.

As a coach and triathlete I have always seen beginners entering races. And of course there's nothing wrong with that, in fact I encourage people  to challenge themselves. But setting appropriate goals is very important. Just as in life. Set achievable goals that will challenge your skills. When you reach them, you will reach happiness. No matter what the goals is. So a non-swimmer should NOT set for his or her goal to swim 1500 meters in a very difficult river without preparation. Even if preparation has been done and the person still is not able to complete the distance without difficulty, that person is not ready. As a coach I would not let any athlete enter a race and put their health and lives in danger I don't think they are able to. Be smart, pick a race you can complete. I guarantee you will have a better experience.

By the same token, the person who signs up for the race has to be aware of the demands of the event. Hot, cold, humid, choppy, wet, windy, currents, crowds, whatever the circumstances, each individual has to take responsibility for themselves to prepare for what may come that day. A triathlon club should also make sure their athletes are ready. Race organizers should make sure that people understand what is required of them to finish the race safely. Perhaps triathlon races (in general) do not communicate that well to the participants. But ultimately it is the person's individual responsibility. And this rule can be extended not only to those with little or no skill, but also to those who may have a pre-existing medical condition. And of course all the other parties involved should take their share of responsibility as well.

You have one life. Live responsibly.

Tibor Nemes
Owner at Trioptimal LLC
Director at Formula Tri Club

The Elemental Sport

Triathlon is the most elemental sport I can think of.

It includes the most important habitats the human race has evolved through: water and land. And it also involves the most amazing human invention: the bicycle. Both physical and mental evolution is represented in triathlon. No wonder you get hooked so quick.

The Hoka Report

Well these are funny looking shoes. They look like a cross between platform shoes and a bag of marshmallows. What intrigued me to buying a pair was the fact that so many ultra runners love it and I just had to find out why. I am not an ultra runner but whatever they like I listen to. They know what works on the 'long run' (pun intended). Yes, it may not seem like the shoe for people who were born to run, but maybe for those who were born and then decided to run. or for those who run to be reborn.

So without any literary dissertation and scientific evidence based hypothesising (this is not a real word, don't quote me), this is what I think about the Hoka One One's:

- A funny looking pair of shoes needs a funny name.
- They look heavy but they are not. The spring-like effect on each stride makes you feel lighter actually.
- The bulky size encourages shortened but more frequent strides. This is good right? Textbook way to help avoiding injury (which I need badly!).
- For the above reason: not for sprinting. They are high mileage shoes. Hence the appreciation by ultra runners.
- Expensive. But competition will come in soon and drive profits to zero in no time. Buy stock now, sell when Fila makes a version of it, or when they show up at Modell's.
- Nice colors.
- Not just soft on landing but seems to give you a little spring-like push when leaving the ground.
- Very forgiving shoes, people with sub-par mechanics will love it (like me). Excellent for high mileage running.
- Not great for trail or uneven surfaces, despite the ads. The platform height makes it less stable. Even ultra runners recommend it for trails but if you are 6'1" and 185lbs like me then I would get a pair of ski poles as well to better balance. I often lost my balance while running on a rooty, rocky trail. I should mention that my ankles are almost as bad as my knees, so they do need more support.
- LOVE'EM on long runs on hard surface. Like during most urban races. LOVE THEM. (ok point taken...)
- Not for racing. If you want to go fast, even in a marathon, wear other shoes designed for speed. These are not designed for speed. They are high mileage training shoes. I will wear them to marathons because I am not that competitive in the first place. I may even pr with these, because my current marathon pr is pathetic (relative to the amount of running I do, no disrespect to those slower than me). If you are racing, trying to pr, forget these puppies.
- I can't wait to go running in them. I am actually excited about getting up in the am to put these marshmallow clogs on and go for a run. Yes, people do smile when they see me in them. But who cares? The day will come when they shed their rubber socks (toe shoes) and strap on these cloud joggers.
- Will they strengthen your feet and ligaments like the toe shoes? Probably not as much over the same distances. But if you run long enough they will, or if you mix in non-Hoka runs in your training you will...

All in all, I would recommend these to those who constantly struggle to find the right pair of running shoes. If bare foot running scares you. If support shoes seem to heavy and don't really seem to work that well. If you destroyed your knees growing up as a mad downhill skiing lunatic (yes, like me). If all of a sudden you decided the void in your life can be filled with running 75 miles a week but don't have a running background. I think you get the point...

Enjoy the flight!