Interview with Rich Roll – endurance racing legend

We didn’t get around to posting this before the event, but as well as getting advice from Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes (see older posts) we were fortunate enough to speak to Rich Roll…an Ultraman competitor (it’s like Ironman but even tougher) who, having let himself go a little over the years, turned his life around to be named one of the 25 fittest men on the planet by Men’s Fitness magazine and did it all on an entirely plant-based diet!

Hope you enjoy…

After you had your 'eureka' moment, how did you go about getting fit again?

My journey began with a decision to first address my eating habits. When I turned 40, I weighed in at about 205 pounds. As a former world-class competitive swimmer, I was far from fighting shape and knew I needed a serious change. I began with a seven-day supervised herb, fruit and vegetable juice cleanse and subsequently embarked on a vegetarian regime. However, after about 6 months on this routine, I was not experiencing any significant changes in either my weight or energy levels. I was close to abandoning vegetarianism altogether, but decided instead to give a vegan/100% plant-based diet a try first, given that I was already halfway there. After giving up dairy products, eggs and everything animal-based, I experienced a tremendous spike in vigor almost immediately and knew that I had discovered something that was working for me. It was only after establishing this nutritional program that I began to even think about returning to competitive athletics.

What roadblocks did you meet along the way? How did you overcome these?

I can’t say I experienced any 'roadblocks' per sey, but there have certainly been obstacles. There are always the naysayers and negative people who attempted to dissuade me from not only my plant-based diet but also from attempting to tackle such an endurance challenge as onerous as Ultraman. But the biggest challenge by far is balancing my professional life as a full-time entertainment attorney, husband and father of four children with a training program that averages about 20-25 hours per week. My solution for addressing this was to eviscerate everything from my life that was non-essential in order to find the time to meet all my obligations, including carefully choosing my company, to surround myself with a supportive network of influences.

What nutritional advice would you offer a budding endurance athlete?

I realize that not everyone is ready to go entirely plant-based. But I would encourage anyone who is interested in this to give it a try. If, after 30 days, you don’t feel better or experience an increase in your vigor, you can always go back. But don’t take my word for it. Do your own research. Books I found helpful were THE CHINA STUDY by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, THRIVE, by Brendan Brazier, THE ENGINE 2 DIET by Rip Esselstyn and HOW TO PREVENT AND REVERSE HEART DISEASE by Rip’s father Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. At a minimum, I would encourage people to increase the percentage of organic fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains into their diet and eliminate processed foods and soft drinks.

What does your training schedule look like right now? How much is gym-based and how much outdoors?

Right now, I am taking a much needed break after Ultraman to allow my body, mind and soul to recover from what was an incredibly rigorous and challenging training season. In January, I will begin strength training with a  focus on core work and begin my return to cycling and trail running. Once Spring arrives, I will return to the pool and reduce my gym time considerably. Although I hate the gym and always prefer to be outdoors, strength training is important, especially for the older athlete. But by summer all of my workouts will be swim/bike/run.

What has been the best piece of advice you have received in your quest for fitness?

Follow your heart! Find something fitness-based that you genuinely enjoy. It shouldn’t be a fad or a phase. Its about a lifestyle choice - a journey, not a destination.

How happy were you with your performance in Hawaii (RR finished 6th in Ultraman 2009)?

Very happy. Winning the 6.2 mile swim and going on to win Day 1 by 10 minutes was a dream come true. And, although I suffered a serious bike crash on the Day 2 170-mile bike leg that ultimately dropped me down to 6th after a 7:51 double marathon on Day 3 with an injured knee and immobile shoulder, I wouldn’t change a thing. 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th – it doesn’t really matter to me. What matters is that I went on a journey. That along the way I was faced with some unexpected demons. That I was able to face them and persevere. That is what Ultraman is all about. It's what sport is all about. It's what life is all about. Of course, I would like to return to the race and put together a complete three-day race, but I would honestly say that my 2009 experience was perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

Have you ever raced in the Middle East? Is this something you would be interested in doing?

Not only have I never raced in the Middle East, I have never been to the Middle East. I would absolutely love to find a race, make the trip and experience that part of the world. I understand that there is quite a robust multisport community in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as well as an array of interesting races. Given the opportunity, I would definitely relish the adventure of travelling east.

What advice would you give to someone who is looking to change their life and become more healthy?

Within everyone exists the power to change. I don’t care how busy you are, how old you are, how overweight or out of shape you are...change is possible. It starts with a decision followed by a commitment along a trajectory of baby steps that, with consistency over time, will generate results. There are no easy fixes and it's not always comfortable. But its always possible. Search deep within. Identify what you want to change. Create a real plan that will work over time within the constraints of your life circumstances. Assemble a support network and begin the journey. You might just be amazed at what you are truly capable of. I certainly am. If you had told me two years ago that I would be where I am now I would have told you you were insane!

The big Three-Oh!!!

My birthday today, guys and gals...and not just any old birthday but my 30th.

So, how have I celebrated? Well, last night I nailed a pretty good 3,500 yard session in the pool. I know - Rock and, indeed, Roll. As a young whippersnapper I swam pretty seriously (every day and often twice a day) up to a national standard and I'm really enjoying getting into my swimming again. I'm now starting to step up the sessions a little too. I've a list of around 15 hour-long (3500-4000 yard) sets and work my way through those one by one. Some are just standard sets, others are aimed a little more at building good distances - essential for triathlons.

This morning, I was up at 6am and did a 30km cycle on my mountain bike - felt pretty good too. We've a long weekend here in Dubai (it's Islamic New Year) and I'll look to get one circuit session in and one BRICK (transition practice - probably 500m swim along the shore in the sea, run back to starting point - repeated three times - great for getting used to that 'jelly legs' feeling you get when coming out of the swim and heading into the cycle but also a really good cross-train experience) over the course of the three-day weekend.

The point of this is...well?

Firstly, it may be useful info for anyone else at the early stages of training for triathlon. More significantly, I remember when I was swimming competitively just how unmotivated I often was - and how much I tried to avoid morning training.

It's funny that, now 30-years-old, I have more determination, motivation and even competitiveness than I did back then. I can't wait to train this weekend and almost jump out of bed on those early mornings, coz of all the energy I have.

I recently saw a photo on Facebook from my 28th birthday and, from a vanity point of view, two things occurred: 1) I looked older then than now; 2) It looked like some fat kid had eaten Matt! From a non-vain point of view, exercise has brought so much back to my life. I feel younger and better than I have for years, I have tonnes more energy and I just enjoy the variety of things I have to do.

Sure, I can tell you that beers, vodka cranberries, junk food, late nights and some truly embarrassing dancing are all likely to feature over the course of this birthday weekend, but that's not all there is - that's not all I am.

After all, what better way to crack through a hangover than a beach BRICK session?

Matt

Time for reflection...

I have to admit it: the last couple of days of the Adventure Challenge were tinged with disappointment for me.

The very first morning - competitors prepare their boats on the Abu Dhabi corniche

Maybe I was too close to the whole thing but we'd set ourselves the aim of completing all the events and, well, that didn't happen. We put a valiant stint in, no doubt. Maybe a little of the personal disappointment came from the fact that I knew I had a little more to give (except in the kayaking - I gave my all including, it would seem, a life without chronic back pain, in that). But on the last day and ever since, I've become a little cheerier and more positive.

Pre-dawn alterations are made

Almost all the other competitors were either professional athletes or came from a background that included a long history of triathlon, Ironman or endurance racing events. We didn't. Most had been training specifically for this event for six months. We had eight weeks.

Jeff and Pete put up their tent on the first evening in the desert.

In hindsight, our goals were probably a little unrealistic and what we did achieve was fairly monumental. We were woefully under-prepared - physically, mentally and in terms of experience of such events. Hats were forgotten, food was lost, water was wasted...we made mistakes that, I'm fairly certain, other teams did not make - but that's what your debut is for.

Stunning scenery on the first mountain biking leg.


We still put a real effort in and I think everyone was surprised by how much we did manage.

A word here for our fellow competitors: wonderful, beautiful, genial, helpful, encouraging, motivating heroes each and every one of them. Inspirational in the way that only truly exceptional people can be.

One competitor finishes the stage and checks in with her electronic timing plug.

I won't tell you all the ways in which we hurt or were uncomfortable during those six days - Jeff has already done a marvelous job of that in his last post - and the 30-minute shower I treated myself to afterwards was one of life's greatest ever feelings.

The American team uses some unique yoga poses to stretch out after the cycling.

But that shower also gave me time to reflect and what I realised - much like Pete - was how much I had enjoyed the past few days...the 3am starts, the uncomfortable nights' sleep, the Army-grade food...the competition, the stunning scenery, the great outdoors, taking on nature and not having to worry about a mobile phone, car keys, email or my wallet for almost a week. Just about everything.

The teams line up outside the beautiful Qasr Al Sarab resort.

In that way, I guess you could say that the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge was genuinely life-changing for me and, from the impression I get when we sat down for that beer after the final day's competition, I think Pete and Jeff would agree.

So, life-changing how exactly?

Basically, I have realised just how much I like being fit and around fit, healthy people. So, I've finally done something I've been promising myself to do for ages and signed up for a beginner's climbing course. I've also recommenced the once or twice weekly pre-work games of tennis with my housemate.

It's been a long, hard day.

But the experience has also made me a lot more serious about my training. Yes, I want to have a life, socialise and not just be one of those boring people who can only talk about gaiters, aerobars, negative splits and rehydration supplements...but I also love competition and I intend to train towards taking on a few more duathlon/triathlon/running events. My ultimate goal would be to make it up to Olympic distance and then try a few 70.2s - basically, the half Ironman distance.

The early morning ascent of Jebel Hafeet.

I've set myself a new, fairly flexible programme with an emphasis on pushing hard and training smart across swimming, cycling, running and strength circuits. I can't wait to get going on it with a 3500m swim this evening.

The (worthy) winners cross the finishing line in Al Ain.

An extremely painful back problem has also taught me that looking after and listening to your body involves more than just being fit. Yoga and massages (between the road bike I'm about to order, wetsuits, running/cycling shoes, helmets, gloves, tri-suit and yoga, stretching and massage sessions etc etc I seem to have chosen just about the most expensive hobby in existence!) are going to play a significant role going forward - especially as it appears that the muscular back problem is one I'll have to manage rather than one that can be solved.

So, all in all, one hell of an experience and one that could have even shaped the rest of my adult life.

The big question though, the one that everyone really wants to ask - would I do the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge again?

The Desert Hacks/Xtreme Journos celebrate the end of the Adventure Challenge.

I'd need to start training - kayak especially - with at least six months to go and, given what the rest of the Desert Hacks have said so far, I'd need to find three new team members but I think that maybe, perhaps, possibly, in the right circumstances, I  might consider...oh, who am I kidding??? I'm going to be booking six days off at the beginning of December every year until I get a media team through the whole of that race if it's the last thing I do. Which, admittedly, it could well be.



So, if you're a mental (sorry: fit and healthy) media professional that is crazy (erm: willing) to put in some heavy training and endure (whoops: enjoy) the toughest six days of your life next December, do leave a comment here or email mattalfie@gmail.com. Ideally, based in the UAE but, to be honest, I'll accept all-comers.

Just two weeks to go...an update

If you'll indulge me briefly, blogoholics, allow me to tell you a little about the place where four of the five Desert Hacks work. It's an office on an industrial estate type area called International Media Production Zone (Dubai has a wonderful lack of imagination where names are concerned; for more examples, see The Dubai Mall, The Dubai Fountain, Dubai Marina, The Dubai Promenade...) and it's in the middle of the desert.

Now, I'm not disparagingly describing Dubai as a city in the middle of the desert - it's not, it's on a lovely stretch of coastline - but our office is actually in the middle of the desert. No shops, cafes, restaurants...just sand.

Therefore, I've come to really look forward to waxing lyrical with some pop adventure-philosophy on these blogs. I take 10 minutes after eating lunch at my desk to connect with the blogosphere - a little light relief during a particularly busy time in work. Actually, I'd love to hear from any athletes, triathletes or adventure racers out there - how do you make sure that busy periods in work don't mess with your training schedule?

So, on to the meat of today's post: we have just two weeks to go before the big Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge and it's beginning to feel extremely, well, real. Therefore, this weekend we decided, as they say in Spinal Tap, to turn the dial up to 11!

Pete, Jeff and I did a 45km walk, which clocked in at just over 8 hours. I won't play it down, this was easily our toughest training session so far. We did it as four circuits of an 11km+ route. The first two times around were tough but spirits remained high...the third...well, the third. OW! It hurt in ways that nothing should. The only way through it was to strap on the MP3 players and almost literally fight our ways through. It was a spirit breaker. Feet throbbing, blistering, rashes flaring up, joints aching...I think it's fair to say that we all HATED it.

However - beware of more cod philosophy coming up - thanks to what I'm not ashamed to describe as a top class display of camaraderie and a triumph of the human spirit over adversity, not to mention a careful programme of regular pauses and stretches, the final loop was much less painful. A swim to ease those aches and pains at the end, and it felt worthwhile. We know we can cover the distances required, we know we can walk mile after mile after mile for hours on end...

I don't know whether you can ever be fully prepared for a hardcore endurance adventure race, and, in an ideal world, we'd have had a couple more months at this level to hone our, erm, skills, but I think we're feeling OK. Apprehensive but determined and, whisper it, almost confident.

For the past two days, I've hardly been able to walk. It feels like someone took a baseball bat to my feet arches - probably made worse by my feet-like-a-slab-of-steak flatfootedness. We couldn't kayak yesterday, as planned, due to high winds and choppy waters but that was, if I'm completely honest, a relief.

This morning, however, I dragged myself out of bed and managed 30kms on the mountain bike before work. A couple of thousand metres in the pool awaits tonight.

People think I'm insane when I tell them about how much we train. They think there must be something wrong with me to not only spend 8 hours of my weekend walking but to follow that with a 6am cycle. I'm getting used to answering the question "why?" but sometimes it's hard to vocalise the perfect response.

Beacuse that's what it takes. Because that's what you do. Because, no matter how my bruised feet feel now and my aching body screamed during our third lap of four, that's what we love. Getting up every day and knowing you're harder, stronger, fitter and faster than yesterday is what has to drive you otherwise there is no way you'd get through the training for this event, nevermind the comp itself.

There's a phrase by the great Roman philosopher Seneca who was infinitely better at it than me (philosophising, not adventure racing - he was, by all accounts, a dreadful cyclist) which reads "per aspera ad astra". It has become something of a personal motto for me during the past few weeks.

"Through difficulties to the stars." I guess that, as much as anything, is the answer to all those whys.

Matt