Full transcript: IRONMIND, Episode 10
0:00 This week on Ironmind. I’m missing my bike right now. Where is it? It’s hot. I know it’s unbelievable.
0:11 Oh my gosh. My name is Brian Rose and I host a show called London Real. A few months ago, John Joseph, the front man of the hardcore punk band, the Cro-Mags, walked into my studio. He’s the complete opposite of me. But, something happened.
0:40 He challenged me to race the Ironman Triathlon in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on May 20th on a 100% plant-based diet. Previously, Ironman trainer Samantha Murphy pushed me to the limit and I got to see some old demons. John Joseph showed me the spirit world and I spoke openly about my heroin addiction for the first time. I returned to London and was told by Charles Poliquin that competing on my plant-based diet was impossible. We learned about John Joseph’s dark past and I pushed my body to the breaking point.
1:21 Then, Dr. Gabor Mate spoke to me about my unresolved childhood trauma. And I struggled to balance my family with my personal goals. I’m 47 years old and have never run an endurance race in my life, but they say, “What doesn’t kill you, “makes you stronger.” This is my journey to the Ironman.
1:59 Happy birthday to me. How could you spend a better birthday than about to go somewhere and make a film about you doing an Ironman movie. I’ve just checked the bike in a special bike package. I feel in a very good zone right now. Thank you all.
2:18 I really feel like I’ll be doing this race for all of us and it’s a great feeling knowing that that’s gonna happen, so, there you go, folks. I will see you in America next. Peace.
3:16 Brian Rose, you made it! What’s up. What’s up, brother. How are you man. Good to see you.
3:22 You good? Damn. Talkin’ about it on the Brooklyn Bridge and here you are. And your birthday weekend. Are you excited?
3:29 Yeah, yeah yeah. I got here Monday. Put some training work in. Didn’t get my bike ’til today, unfortunately. But you got your bike and it’s in one piece.
3:38 Yeah, well I did try bike transport. So, they never mess up. The airline– So, I’m missing my bike right now. Where is it? It’s somewhere en route.
3:59 I don’t know where it is. They say it got on the plane in London. Hasn’t shown up in Atlanta. Ah, so it didn’t get on the plane. No, it did make it.
4:07 We barely made the transfer from Atlanta to Chattanooga and the bike didn’t make it. Well, today’s Friday, so– yeah. We’re gonna go down there later and see if it’s there because I filled out a loss baggage thing, so– Yeah. Yeah, we gotta get it as soon as possible. I would be, did you talk to Sam about that?
4:20 Yeah. Listen man, it’s always something. You see my nose? My dog broke my nose. No.
4:25 I’m laying on the floor playin’ dead, he jumps off the bed, all 90 pounds on the back of my head and slams my nose. My nose just like It’s f*cking leaking the whole day. So, my nose is broke over here, right on the bridge of my nose. You broke it before, a few times? Yeah.
5:19 It’s hot! I know, it’s unbelievably hot. Oh my, gosh. And it’s only gonna be worse, yay. This is not New York.
5:27 We’re a long way. I know, I know. Nice to see you. How are you? I’m great, yeah.
5:33 You ready? You know, you tell me. You are ready, you are ready. Yeah. Yeah.
5:38 What do I have to think about differently with the heat? So, the biggest part about racing in the heat is you start cooling yourself off while you’re on the bike so that you can try and keep your core temperature down as low as possible, so that by the time you hit the run, you’re a little bit ahead of the game. And really what you have to think about in the heat is, I’m one with the heat, right? Everyone is going to be in the heat. The elements are the same for everyone.
6:01 The people who are gonna do better are the people who don’t mentally crack in the heat. We’re here by the river and so even though it’s super hot today, you want me to get the wet suit on and get in the river. I’m gonna say no today. You’ve swam in the wet suit enough. Okay. I don’t want you to over heat.
6:21 EVeryone’s swimming in skin suits or without it. Race day, most likely, will be wet suit legal, but for today, we’re just gonna get in and swim. I’m surprisingly calm. Maybe too calm. I’m gonna agree with that.
6:33 Okay. I think one of the things that you have to wrap your mind around is that you have to now step a little bit back from your, you know, the project and focus more on the race and just you. Because it is hard, this race. And it is hot and it is hilly and you need to be off your feet as much as possible tomorrow and you really just need to focus on getting you prepared. So, I don’t think the reality, maybe when you went down and checked in maybe it was a little more real.
7:02 But it needs to get even more real, right. Okay, you always put things in perspective so clearly. I’m pretty clear. And you want me on the bike tomorrow, too. I want you literally to run through your gears just to make sure you’re comfortable.
7:16 I just want you to loosen up a bit because actually you’re very stale after days off, so we want to get some movement going. Yeah. So, a light bike and a light run. Okay. And I’m not training today, obviously.
7:26 Why, are you getting out in the water? Yeah, I’m gonna go swim.
8:06 I have no bike. It’s still missing and without a bike, there’s no race. So, it’s still somethin’ that’s on my mind. I just got an email from my dad. He has not spoken to me since this whole Ironmind thing came out.
8:19 So, he never knew about my addiction, my overdose, and my sister’s come out and other people have come out supporting me but I have no idea what he’s gonna say and he’d actually been very quiet before that. So, I just saw he sent me a happy birthday email. So, interesting to see what he’s got to say.
8:43 He says, “Yo, don’t wanna distract “your Ironmind but do want to recognise your birthday. “Good luck in Tennessee.” Cool. So, I still need to talk to my dad about this whole thing, obviously, because I think he thinks maybe that’s too much information that I put out there. And maybe he’s right. But that was very nice of him to send.
9:02 He didn’t have to send it. Sometimes people give you love in very cryptic ways.
9:24 So what is the plan? So the plan today is that we’re gonna do what’s called course recon. We’re gonna drive the bike course and you kinda get a feel for what the roads looks like. You’re gonna get a feel for the terrain that you’re gonna be seeing. I want you to see the turns so that you know when you need to be braking or changing things.
9:46 While you’re doing this, look around, right. I’m mean it’s pretty. Not too much. Not too much but, just think, like okay, this is beautiful. I’m out here doing this.
9:59 Enjoy the day. You put the hard training in. Your body’s just gonna go through the mechanics, you know. Yeah. You had a great coach.
10:06 You had three months of great nutrition and a great training plan. Just enjoy it. I think it’s really important to remind yourself to stay present in the practise that I’m doing this, right? Like sometimes, I’ll even say that to myself, like, oh, this is amazing. You’re doing this.
10:25 Absolutely, gratitude. It’s because it’s a very strange experience to me, the way that time works when you’re racing. It seems endless. When am I gonna get to mile 20 and all the sudden, even though you’re suffering so badly at mile maybe eight, nine and 10, during the finisher shoe, you cross that finishing line and if you fail to kind of take all of those moments in, it’s over with and then it’s just your memory.
10:53 John, what you do think about when you’re out here on your bike? The gratitude, man. Where I came from. F*ckin’ streets and drugs and incarceration and more drugs and violence and then I start settling in to my happy place, man, you know. I chant, you know. Yeah.
11:12 Because I am givin’ the gratitude, like, to my higher power to be able to do this. And the surrender.
11:23 You know for me, sometimes, I’m in pain, right, cuz’ I’m working hard, so I will say this to you as a parent. When I get in a tough place, I think about things like how hard and how relentless my daughter had to be to learn how to walk, right. That constant fall, that image of falling down and getting back up and falling down and it’s just the day in and the day out of just like, it’s the blissfulness of childhood that they’re not thinking about that. But it’s kind of the same idea, right?
11:59 This is so different. What do you mean? Did you ever see Deliverance, the movie? Watch where you go. If you hear banjo music and they’re going do not go in the woods in that area.
12:19 How do you feel about it, Brian? What’s your thoughts? It looks absolutely beautiful. It looks ride-able. It looks long.
12:29 Feels long, I mean, jeeze, we’re just driving for an hour plus. And I’m excited.
12:48 Hi, I’ve lost a bag yesterday when I flew in from Atlanta. Okay. I just wanted to see if it’s arrived. What is your last name? Rose, like the flower.
12:57 Oh my gosh. Look familiar? It looks very familiar. Good. Do you want me to double check here?
13:02 It’s got your name on it. Yeah it does. There it is, oh my gosh. You saved me. You want a hug?
13:07 Yes. Okay, cool. Thanks so much. Enjoy. Yeah, that’s awesome.
13:12 Yes, yes, yes, yes. It’s there, I think it’s in one piece. So now we’re gonna take it to Nick. He’s gonna assemble it and make this happen. So, I’m pumped.
13:48 I think Brian is doing this because he wants to be a better version of himself and he wants to challenge himself and he’s not doing it because he wants to show anyone other than himself. He has a concept of how hard this is but nothing is real until you actually do it. Hey man, I’ve been following you. Thank you so much. Hey, good luck, alright.
14:07 You’ll make it happen, you’ll make it happen. Good job, I’ll see you out there, okay. See you tomorrow. The heat is going to be brutal tomorrow and he needs to make sure that he doesn’t get caught up in just riding and riding and riding as hard as he can and I wanna be this fast or I wanna be in front of John or whatever it is.
14:32 Hi, baby. How are the boys? Do you miss me? You do? Goodness, shows how much I mean to you.
14:47 Are you still mad I left you? Baby, it’s crazy here. I can barely even be here on my own. Trust me. Are you gonna be sending me your energy tomorrow?
15:01 Okay. I’m gonna call you right afterwards, alright?
15:08 Okay? Alright, babe, bye.
15:26 Next week on Ironmind. If we as humans are not tested then we don’t advance. Those tests are put there to force us to push through shit. People that try to avoid challenges and being tested, they’re not getting anywhere in life. In 2001, I nearly died from a heroine overdose.
15:49 That’s why I’m dedicating my very first Ironman race to help those similarly addicted by raising money for AddAction. One of the UK’s leading mental health, drug and alcohol charities. Thank you.
