Things I would tell my 20 year old athlete self

It has been 10 years since I got my first running
leg!  I have enjoyed every part of my career
and learned so much through the experience.
But here are some lessons I could have stood to
learn earlier:

# 1) Consider the possibility that you may dedicate the next decade of your life, missing several important social occasions, forgoing other career opportunities, enduring endless grueling workouts, only to wake up the morning of your Olympic final and have your dream shattered by food poisoning.  Would those 10 years pursuing your athletic dream still have been worth it?  If the answer is no, then pick a different career.  If it is yes, remember in both the good times and the bad that you chose this.

#2.) One loss doesn’t make you a loser, and one win doesn’t make you a winner.  Always keep your perspective and aim for consistency.

#3.) Be intentional about maintaining friendships inside and outside your sport.  Sport alone cannot fulfil you.  No matter how talented you are, no matter how many wins, you can never escape the basic human requirement of friendship.  Winning, but having no one to celebrate with will hurt more than losing.

#4.) Make up a list now of all the things you will do when you get injured: new skills you would like to learn, classes you would like to take, internships that interests you.  Notice I said when you get injured, not if.  You are not special; it happens to everyone. It’s far better to use your time productively instead of moping.

#5.) Take ownership of yourself and your career.  Do not automatically deflect important decisions to experts.  Be respectful, be grateful, and acknowledge the wisdom and counsel of others. But remember that you are also an expert when it comes to yourself.

#6.) I cringe when I think of the number of receptions I have been to filled with very important people working for very successful companies, and all I did was stand in a corner talking to other athletes.  The most valuable thing you can amass in your athletic career are contacts, not prize money and sponsorship (unless you are going to be the next Usain Bolt, then you can ignore this one).  Prize money and sponsors disappear when you retire as an athlete.  Your contact network is what will help you to start a successful round 2.

#7.) Live your personal life and your sporting life according to your own set of values - do not buy into cliche sport quotes without critically assessing them.  This includes reciting them in interviews and allowing them residence in your subconscious.  For example, watch this video of Derek Redmond's 400m semi final  at the 1992 Olympics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2G8KVzTwfw .
Then see if you still agree with Vince Lombardi when he says “Winning isn’t everything.  It is the only thing.”

I'm Over it

I am so tired of doping stories dominating athletics news.  It’s another form of stealing. First they steal the win, now they are stealing the limelight. 

It is frustrating to see so much press time devoted to the same boring story line, because it takes away from the positive stories everyone should be talking about.  Like Markus Rehm. 

Markus is a single leg amputee who recorded an astonishing 8.24m jump in the 2014 German National Champs.  To put this into perspective, Greg Rutherford jumped 8.20m to win Gold at the Commonwealth Games.  This jump would have won Markus silver in the London 2012 Olympics.

The world couldn't get enough of the fact that double amputee Oscar Pistorius was able to hold his own in an able bodied 400m race.  They extolled his Olympic semi-final effort.  But Markus is the first amputee in the history of athletics to actually record a result that could see a podium finish in an able bodied final. 

Who cares about Justin Gatlin - HOW IS THE ATHLETIC WORLD NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS? 

Markus was not selected for the German European 2014 Champs team because there was concern that his blade may provide a competitive advantage.  More investigation was needed.  This article provides more details: http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/11285062/german-federation-drops-amputee-long-jumper-markus-rehm-team.

A recent study by the University of Oslo has concluded that “muscles can retain the advantages given by anabolic steroids decades after the point at which they were taken.” More details can be found here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/29510575.

Why are former “chemical” dopers given the benefit of doubt and allowed to compete while accused “technological” dopers are denied the opportunity until it can be 100% proved a blade does not confer a special advantage?

I am not sure what the answer is for either case, but again, how is the athletic world not obsessed with Markus Rehm?

Stop elevating the profiles of intentional dopers: stop nominating them for awards, stop writing about them in the press.  Let’s focus on rewarding athletes trying to achieve their goals with character and integrity.

Debate on Leg Amputee Classification in the Paralympics

Debate on Leg Amputee Classification in the Paralympics

I have been asked several times about my views on leg amputee classification in the Paralympics.  I have given it some thought, and finally put my views to paper.  Please share your comments!  This is definitely a discussion worth engaging in!

The link to the pdf file is below.

https://acrobat.com/?d=C-Ey5ri4EFSBygOX0hKc5g

Do you compete in the NORMAL Olympics?

Do You Compete in the NORMAL Olympics?

Casual Observer: "…so, do you compete in the normal Olympics?"

Me: “No, I compete in the abnormal ones. “

Stef Reid, Paralympic sprinter/long jump, and
Louis Smith, British gymnast, having a muscle off

These are the kinds of questions I field on a daily basis when working out at the local track or gym.  Vocabulary matters because it exposes underlying attitudes and beliefs.  To me, this answer is perfect, especially when I nail the delivery with a sweet and innocent smile:-). I call them out on their belief that it is strange for a disabled person to be athletic, and the result is a good laugh, at both of our expenses.  I am never offended because I understand that their words don’t come from a malicious heart.  It is from well meaning people who are genuinely curious, and simply have not had the opportunity to be educated about the Paralympics.  I can relate to them because for the first 16 years of my life, I was one of them, and shared many of the same thoughts about the Paralympics.  I became involved in disabled sport after becoming an amputee and realized how far off I was from the truth. 

So, with the Paralympics fast approaching, I thought I would do the general public and journalists a favour by clarifying a couple of things and saving you from some potential awkwardness.

Here is a quick tutorial on the proper usage of the following terms: Paralympian, Paralympics, Olympian, Olympics, and Special Olympics

The term “Paralympian” is very specific: it refers ONLY to those who have attended a Paralympic games. The honour is downgraded when you start referring to all disabled athletes as Paralympians or Paralympic athletes.  Secondly, the term “para” does not make any reference to paralysis.  It is short for “parallel”, as in the Paralympics take place alongside the Olympics. 

The Special Olympics and the Paralympics are not interchangeable terms.  They are separate organizations with different mandates.  The Special Olympics is an amazing organization that provides sporting opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.  They follow a participation model and their primary mandate is the betterment of the athletes and communities they are a part of.  The mandate of the Paralympics is to provide a competitive opportunity for elite athletes with physical disabilities.  While Paralympic athletes strive to demonstrate the Paralympic values (inspiration, determination, courage, and equality), at the end of the day, the primary goal is to win.

The terms Olympian and Paralympian are also not interchangeable.  Lately, I have noticed people referring to me as an Olympic athlete, or telling other friends that I am going to the Olympics, despite continued references to myself as a Paralympian.  I am starting to understand why: they are doing it as sign of respect because they are trying to convey the message that what I am trying to achieve as a Paralympian is on par with an Olympian.  But the truth is, I am proud to be a Paralympian, and every time you refer to me as an Olympian, you are chipping away at the Paralympic movement and saying that it is not good enough to simply be a Paralympian.  I am honoured to be a Paralympian.  I see no shame in the term. 

Besides, being normal is boring :-)

The REAL Fountain of Youth

The REAL Fountain of Youth

It is amazing the speed at which people will part with their money for the promise of a youthful glow.  Magic wrinkle creams and miraculous weight loss equipment are what keep the shopping network in business.  It is the creams that particularly amuse me.  Are we forgetting that everything we see on our body – skin, hair, and nails – is ALREADY DEAD?  How effective is that cream really going to be?  Cream manufacturers are starting to get smarter.  The newest advertising phrases include things like “DNA repair and renewal”.  This is on the right track.  We know that the key to aging well lies in the protection and maintenance of our DNA.  But back to the same point – is it really worth repairing the DNA of skin that is already dead?  And why just repair skin DNA?  How can I get my heart, lungs, and liver in on the action as well?

The answer is rather simple and boring: EAT MORE PLANTS.  There is an abundance of research demonstrating that key compounds in plants interact directly with our DNA.  They can turn on genes and they can turn off genes.  Genes matter because they produce proteins, and it is these proteins that are responsible for everything else that happens in our bodies, from our skin to our brains.  I would like to be more specific, but I can’t.  It is not because I am wrong – it is because nutrition is a very new science.  We still can’t even identify all of the compounds that make up an apple, let alone understand how they interact with our body after digestion.  But what we do know with a large degree of certainty is that people who eat plants are less prone to cancer, a disease characterized by damaged DNA that has the wrong genes turned on.

So, how do I protect the DNA in my living cells, and thus retain my youth and health?  You do it from the inside out by eating more plants.  Here is one of my favourite ways to increase my raw veggie intake:



You cannot bottle the nutritional punch of raw veggies and homemade salad dressing in a pill or a cream. A quick note:  DO NOT skip the salad dressing because you think you are doing yourself a favour by eliminating calories.  The oil is necessary for the body to absorb all of the wonderful fat soluble vitamins, like A, D, and K found in the veggies.  I have seen gourmet health salads sell for upwards of £10-20.  Using my method below, you can make and store a week’s worth of salad using organic produce, for under £8.

Directions:

Salads are all about the right combination of textures and flavours!   In my experience, I have found that almost any raw vegetable can be eaten -and enjoyed- when finely chopped.

Here is the rubric for making an outstanding salad:

1) Colourful mix of veggies
2) Intensely flavoured cheese (the stronger the flavour, the less you need to use; my personal fav is goat feta)
3) Sprinkling of any type of nut or seed
4) Balanced dressing

Once a week, I load up on fresh veggies.  I wash and dry them, and then slice them up in my food processor.   Pretty much any combo will work, but the key is to get a variety of textures and colours. For example, combine Swiss chard, red cabbage, shredded carrots, and sliced radishes.  I also like to add in some onions for flavour.  I mix it all in a massive Tupperware container, and then store it in my fridge.  By choosing thicker, rougher leaves, like kale, Swiss chard, and collard greens, and staying away from traditional lettuce leaves (like spinach, romaine, etc), your salad will last the entire week.   All you will have to do is plate it and add the nuts, cheese, and dressing! 

PS. Have your photo ID handy!

Brain Fermentation

Brain Fermentation

Brent Lakatos T53 Wheelchair Racer; Stef Reid T/F44 Sprinter and Long Jumper

As a self confessed workaholic, there is nothing more irritating than seeing people around you succeeding who don’t put in as much time and effort, and who don’t have to sacrifice as much as you.  The person who shows up on time, always prepared, and never calls in sick should be the one who takes the prize, right?............Actually, not always.  Case in point: my wonderful husband, Brent, and myself.  Brent has a soft spot for chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and crisps, trains 30% less than myself, and has no problem blowing off a training session due to rain or cold weather.  I, on the other hand, won’t touch a refined carbohydrate, train like an energizer bunny, and will continue until I hear tornado sirens.  The result for this season has been that muscle fibers pop out of Brent’s arms like they are trying to escape, and he records near personal bests almost every time he races.  I am just hanging on to my six pack and had to sit on the sidelines for the winter with a stress fracture in my back.

The truth is there are processes at work in our subconscious brain that no amount of work or effort can speed up.  They are utterly dependent on Time - in fact, our efforts often get in the way.  The most basic definition of fermentation is the transformation of one thing into another over Time, whether that be sugar into alcohol, or a talented athlete into a champion.

There is record of only one person in history who has been able to escape the walls of Time, Jesus Christ.  His first documented miracle involved the instantaneous transformation of water into wine.  What he did went beyond providing the starting materials of a good wedding reception.  He made a powerful statement: “I am beyond the confines of space and Time.”  Imagine the arrogance of the person who thinks that he, too, can manipulate Time in this godlike fashion.

Malcom Gladwell is a social scientist who has studied the science behind success.  The common denominator behind all successful athletes, musicians, doctors, comedians, criminals, CEOs, etc is a “fermentation” period of 10 years, equivalent to 10, 000 hours of training.  This is the period of time required by the brain to assimilate and integrate the neural pathways required to achieve true mastery.

The creation of a fine wine is a delicate process.  It requires superior grapes (talented athlete), quality yeast to catalyze the process (talented coach), and, of course, Time.  Sure, you can speed up the fermentation process by pressurizing the solution, or increasing the heat, but this is always to the detriment of the taste and quality of the final product.

I am in the process of learning the most important lesson I can as an athlete, which is to get over myself, and get over my ability to think and analyze in an effort to conjure up short cuts.  I can’t speed up the rate at which my brain ferments – in fact, sometimes the most effective thing I can do to improve my performance as an athlete is to sit back, relax and trust the perfection of nature and the mysterious processes of my brain.  All I can do is facilitate the transformation by focusing on the program and cues given to me by my coaches.  To do otherwise is not the sign of a hard worker – it is just plain arrogant to think you can escape the bounds of Time.  Coincidentally, Brent has been racing for 16 years; I have been racing for 7.

Tangerine Infused Salmon

Tangerine Infused Salmon

Following on the theme of six packs and fish oils from my previous blog, here is a delicious and natural way to get those all important Omega 3's!  I love mixing sweet and savoury.  This is my absolute favourite way to prepare salmon!

Tangerine salmon prepared for the oven

Salmon 101

People often have questions about what kind of salmon you should look for in the shops.   Essentially, there are two categories: wild salmon, which is often labeled Alaskan, and farmed salmon, often labeled Atlantic.  Wild salmon generally tends to be firmer, and less fatty than farmed salmon, due to differences in diet.  Wild salmon is also has deeper coloured flesh and is richer in taste.  Nutritionally, the difference between wild and farmed salmon in terms of protein and fat content is quite small.  However, different countries have different fish farming regulations, and there can be problems with fish developing in waters highly polluted with waste and antibiotics.  I am a huge supporter of sustainable fish farms when done responsibly, and it is fine to let personal budgets and taste dictate whether you buy wild or farmed.  Personally, if budget weren’t an issue, I would buy Coho salmon (wild variety) as often as possible.  This is because it is a smaller fish than wild Alaskan salmon, will therefore contain less PCB’s.   The best thing to do is to strike up a conversation with your fishmonger, and ask about the life of the salmon you are about to buy (origin, freshness, have any dyes been used, etc).  If they don’t know, then move on.

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 7 min

Ingredient/Tools:
• 4 fillets (4 oz) of fresh, wild caught salmon
•3 tangerines
•1 tbsp brown sugar
•cinnamon (to taste)
•garlic salt (to taste)
•pepper (to taste)

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to broil

2.      Arrange salmon on a baking sheet lined with foil for easy clean up

3.      Peel the tangerines.  Using the segments from the first 2 tangerines, squeeze the juice over the 4 fillets

4.      Spread the 1 tbsp of brown sugar evenly among the fillets, then sprinkle with cinnamon, garlic salt, and pepper to taste

5.      Place the used tangerine segments and the fresh segments from the third tangerine on top of the fillets

6.      Place fillets in the over for 7-8 minutes close to the source of heat.  Do NOT over cook

Enjoy!  That six pack is on the horizon!