Lesson in Overcoming

Lesson in Overcoming

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Luis's interview

by Luis Alvarez
Winner at Ironman Honolulu - World Record Holder - First and only person to compete at every Ironman venue in the world.

"Master Amino Acid Pattern (MAP) has helped me so much, not just in competing and qualifying for the Hawaii world Championship, but has helped me to recover to compete in an IRONMAN averaging every 3 weeks and to win IRONMAN Honolulu." - Luis Alvarez

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by Luis Alvarez

I won Ironman Arizona 2007! Yes, I won the Ironman, and before I tell you how I did it let me leave you with this phrase:

“A man is not finished when he is defeated, he is finished when he quits.”

Only five minutes left to start Ironman Arizona , I jumped into the water to get a good spot at the start line and Ouch!!! I hit the rocks. I felt a big pain on the bottom of my right foot and ankle. It felt bad and it started to swell right away.

My first thought was to quit but then I thought that the cold water could fix the swollen ankle during the 2.4 miles that the swimming will last and then I could take care of the other injuries. The gun went off and I began swimming…

Upon running to the transition I new that the injuries on my feet and ankles were worse than I thought. I didn't dare pay much attention to them and began cycling. The foot pain was bearable but significant. I was worried though about what would happen on the run…..

Would I be able to run a full marathon in this condition? That was the big question What should I do?

I went as fast I could to the medical tent to ask for adhesive tape or anything that could use to help me run the best I could considering the damage. When the doctor took off my shoes his face said something like “are you planning to run with your feet like this??” I just asked him to clean them the best he could and I will decide within a mile or two if I could continue.

It was until I began walking when I realize that the real problem were not the feet, even thou they hurt, I could not feel them because of the big pain on the ankles!

But I thought, “What the heck, I'll give it a try, I have more than 9 hours before the finish line is closed…” A volunteer told me that the paramedics were going to be waiting for me three miles ahead so after walking 20 minutes per mile I finally encountered them. Very kindly they put a bandage to my ankle that by then was so swollen that it had no shape and looked like it belonged to the “elephant man.” I thought that this will be a good remedy, but far from helping it made things worse because it was cutting my circulation, so I had to take it off.

What I was doing evidently wasn't working; I needed to do something different so I began asking everybody that passed me for an anti-inflammatory. Finally a Mexican friend gave me one and another friend from the Timex Team passed me some Advil. Now I only had to get to the next aid station, once there they gave me an ice cooler filled with ice and water, I took the Advil and the anti-inflammatory and sat there for more than twenty minutes with my feet inside the cooler; this helped a lot and for the first time I thought that I could finish the Ironman! (To tell you the truth I had my doubts.)

Finally, 8 hours and 16 minutes after I began the marathon and more than 15 hours after I first heard the starting bang I cross the finish line!!!

When the going got tough the doubts flooded in. They were ganging up on me. Can I do it? Can I continue? But the essential question was, could I could put one foot down and then another and another? It wasn't running 26 miles. It was moving one foot and putting it down. I could do that. So I did, and in doing so I won another Ironman.

Luis Alvarez

Articles from Luis:
Nutrition Tips for an Ironman - The heart rate monitor as a daily tool - Competions in cold weather - How to do 10 IRONMAN in a year without injuries - 250 MILES BIKE RIDE IN EXTREME CONDITIONS - Health or Fitness - Thanks to MAP I broke my PR 4 years in a row - Quality or Quantity - Three Òfamilies" of Injuries - Mountain Training for Triathlon - How I have been able to really increase my IRONMAN racing speed - What's my training pulse? The Maffetone Method - Lesson in Overcoming - Lesson in Overcoming - Luis Alvarez does it again! Amazing! - MAP not only for athletes - RUNNING WITH THE POSE METHOD - MAP Team Member Luis Alvarez does it again - Ironman Pre-Season - An spectacular New Years Eve MAP. It is not only for training

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