Tim Deer Secretly Discovers the Fountain Of Youth
The Athlete:
Tim Deer is a prime example of a time-starved executive athlete. He juggles his time between four kids, a wife, and The Spine and Nerve Center in Charleston, Virginia, of which he is the CEO. He does this while training for, and excelling in, ultramarathons at a national level. We should also mention he is a big guy (don’t get in his way) and is Masters-aged.
Clearly, Tim presents a unique case when it comes to ultrarunning, as most of his competitors have far more time to hit the trails, not to mention tend to be younger with bodies built to get up and down on the trails more naturally. Tim’s training prescription requires careful planning and must allow for flexibility when his busy life inevitably gets in the way.
Tim is no stranger to endurance events or performing at a high level; having completed Kona and the Boston marathon multiple times. At 56, Tim isn’t getting any younger, but at Purple Patch we believe that increasing age doesn’t have to mean performance stagnation or slippage. This is especially true if your training focuses on uplifting all aspects of your health, not just chasing race results.
The Challenge:
In 2019, at age 54, Tim completed Badwater 135, as one of heaviest competitors ever, weighing over 200 pounds (200 pounds of pretty much all muscle).
Ultramarathons are not for the faint of heart, and Badwater 135 lives up to its name. It begins in Death Valley, almost 3000 feet below sea-level, where competitors traverse the searing desert heat, with temperatures often exceeding 100 degrees. From there, competitors finish with a climb up to 14,000 feet.
Tim completed the event in a staggering 36 hours, but suffered much in the process; the heat from the desert and constant friction from his shoes, literally melting the soles of his feet. You would think that as a doctor by trade, Tim would have realized by now that, perhaps, there are better ways to spend your time. However, Tim was determined to come back smarter and faster.
Fast forward two years to 2021 and Badwater round two. Tim set his sights on substantial improvement His busy lifestyle and demanding career meant that he could not train like a traditional ultramarathoner and log the tens (or even hundreds) of miles a week, or in long single blocks; training protocols needed to be flexible and intentional. Plus, in the months following Badwater, Tim has multiple endurance events, including Kona and the Leadville 100, meaning that he needs to bounce back strong and healthy.
The Solution:
Our approach to this challenge was two-fold, training-based and race-specific preparation.
We implemented a multi-sport approach to Tim’s training, using swimming and cycling as tools for cardiovascular strengthening without the risk of injury, due to the non-weight bearing nature of the activities. Instead of prescribing very long runs, Tim completed much of his run volume through the use of double run days. This allowed for flexibility in his schedule and reduced the risk of injury and over-fatigue.
We tried to avoid the outdated notion that high run volume is required to run well and instead hammered home the importance of consistency over weeks and months, while also adding additional swim and bike sessions when Tim reported feeling fatigued. Last, but certainly not least, essential supporting habits were heavily encouraged. The most important of these habits were: good nutrition and sleep, pre and post-workout fueling, and regular hydration.
Race-specific prep was centered around the sweltering heat of the Badwater race. Sauna and hot bath protocols were introduced to Tim’s schedule and a few low-stress run sessions were completed in the heat. To avoid Tim’s ‘sole-melting incident,’ we planned for two shoe and sock changes mid-race. Finally, we dialed in nutrition and hydration plans for the race, focusing on eating real (solid) food earlier in the event.
The Results
Two years on, and two years older, Tim finished Badwater 135 in 32 hours and 3 minutes, an astonishing 4 hours faster than in 2019. Additionally, he came 1st in the Masters category and 11th overall. And, this is someone built like a brick house and aged 56. Yes, a crazy, amazing performance.
Then, to ensure Tim was properly recovered for Kona and Leadville 100, we kept with the multi-sport theme and made big use of swimming and cycling in the two weeks following Badwater. Running was very limited, but a small amount was prescribed to prevent tissue de-training. During the recovery and rebuild, the main focus was ensuring the system as a whole was healthy, both muscular and mental. This would provide a solid platform going into Tim’s later events.
Tim embraced the unorthodox approach to ultramarathon training, and it paid off big-time. Prioritizing overall health and wellness is of utmost importance when handling an athlete with the lifestyle and age of Tim Deer, where injury or illness can not only derail the training for a single event, it can derail the long-term resilience of an ultra endurance athlete.
Takeaways
It takes courage, wisdom, and discipline to embrace a multi-sport training approach, knowing your peers will be running like their lives depend on it.
It is of the utmost importance to prioritize overall health: injury and sickness in the build to an event like this can derail training catastrophically.
Smart scheduling and consistency for a busy person like Tim is key, especially since very long sessions just aren’t realistic.