When things seem to be off (i.e. - motivation), sometimes its best to just ask why.
Why do I work? To provide for my family and myself. (And maybe to get a new Time Trial bike) Why should I watch less TV and play less video games? So I can have more time to spend with my wife and trying new things. Why do I wake up every morning to train? Because I love triathlons and spending time with my teammates! Why should I eat well? To take care of my body and give myself a little competitive edge in training and racing.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Be Anti Cubicle
We're stuck in cubicles. Stuck sitting down all day in front of computers. This is not how we're meant to live.
As children the first things we learn are to sit up but then we get to standing, walking and then running. Sitting in a cubicle all day is like reverting us back to our infancy.
I think about this quite often. As a programmer I always wonder how if this lifestyle is what God or evolution intended. I don't think so, I just see people around me getting larger and slower. This isn't the way to live.
As children the first things we learn are to sit up but then we get to standing, walking and then running. Sitting in a cubicle all day is like reverting us back to our infancy.
I think about this quite often. As a programmer I always wonder how if this lifestyle is what God or evolution intended. I don't think so, I just see people around me getting larger and slower. This isn't the way to live.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Fear of the future
The past couple of days I've been struggling with my swimming. The other day I looked at the distances I would be swimming in my races this year and the thought of having to do those distances paralyzed me. I thought to myself that there was no way I'd be able to do those kind of distances. I believed that I'd probably have to settle for a DNF.
The problem with focusing too much on your goals is that you begin to loose sight of the journey. Someone once told me that the actual marathon is just a victory lap, the training is where the real accomplishments happen.
The problem with focusing too much on your goals is that you begin to loose sight of the journey. Someone once told me that the actual marathon is just a victory lap, the training is where the real accomplishments happen.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Too much of anything
I was wrong. I thought if you loved something enough you could keep on doing it without burning out. Good concept, but it violates the old cliche that too much of anything is bad for you.
After the marathon I kept on going. The following week I went straight to winter conditioning for triathlons. I was doing up to 14 workout hours a week. I believed since I enjoyed it so much I could keep on doing it which was theoretically correct. Problem was a little bit of the way I'm built.
I've always been the type of person who zeroed in on something and got completely focused. It's one of my greatest strengths but also one of my greatest weaknesses. My wife often tells people that I forget to eat sometimes.
So I was doing too much of training and forgetting some of my favorite things like hanging out with friends. We used to have people over quite regularly but this stopped because I wanted to wake up early for training.
It's important to find and maintain the balance.
After the marathon I kept on going. The following week I went straight to winter conditioning for triathlons. I was doing up to 14 workout hours a week. I believed since I enjoyed it so much I could keep on doing it which was theoretically correct. Problem was a little bit of the way I'm built.
I've always been the type of person who zeroed in on something and got completely focused. It's one of my greatest strengths but also one of my greatest weaknesses. My wife often tells people that I forget to eat sometimes.
So I was doing too much of training and forgetting some of my favorite things like hanging out with friends. We used to have people over quite regularly but this stopped because I wanted to wake up early for training.
It's important to find and maintain the balance.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
My Mental Nugget
I received such great feedback from yesterday's post, Burnout and Mental Toughness, I wanted to share a mental nugget that I used in the marathon.
This idea was shared by one of the Marathon Training Team coaches during a clinic (I couldn't find who this idea originally came form so if you know please share it here so I can give them the appropriate credit). The concept was to dedicate each mile in the marathon to a different person. You prepare a sheet of paper with their names and at some point during every mile you dedicate a little thought/prayer to them. For me these were 26 people that had affected my life in one way or another, some of which have even passed. It was a pretty powerful experience. At mile 22 I recalled my late grandmother and all the love she provided me over the years and it gave me the emotional boost to push on forward.
Like all things running, this motivational tool isn't strictly restricted to running and prayer. Is your day dragging at work? How about have a sheet of inspirational quotes to pull out for every hour of work (or every 30 min if its a Friday)? What about that habit of smoking you've been trying to kick? Why not pull out a picture of the loved ones who are pushing you to quit each time you have a strong urge?
The key is to have a plan. Zen Habits even describe a similar concept in their The Habit Change Cheatsheet (for brevity I've only included a couple of the summary points):
Be creative. Figure out areas where you might need this kind of positive reinforcement. Got your own mental nugget or strategy for staying mentally strong? Share it in the comments!
This idea was shared by one of the Marathon Training Team coaches during a clinic (I couldn't find who this idea originally came form so if you know please share it here so I can give them the appropriate credit). The concept was to dedicate each mile in the marathon to a different person. You prepare a sheet of paper with their names and at some point during every mile you dedicate a little thought/prayer to them. For me these were 26 people that had affected my life in one way or another, some of which have even passed. It was a pretty powerful experience. At mile 22 I recalled my late grandmother and all the love she provided me over the years and it gave me the emotional boost to push on forward.
Like all things running, this motivational tool isn't strictly restricted to running and prayer. Is your day dragging at work? How about have a sheet of inspirational quotes to pull out for every hour of work (or every 30 min if its a Friday)? What about that habit of smoking you've been trying to kick? Why not pull out a picture of the loved ones who are pushing you to quit each time you have a strong urge?
The key is to have a plan. Zen Habits even describe a similar concept in their The Habit Change Cheatsheet (for brevity I've only included a couple of the summary points):
- Write it down
- Make a plan
- Know your motivations
Be creative. Figure out areas where you might need this kind of positive reinforcement. Got your own mental nugget or strategy for staying mentally strong? Share it in the comments!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Burnout and Mental Conditioning
A couple of months ago I experienced a couple aspects of burnout; I was mentally drained and even caught a small cold. The guys over at Marathon Training Program have a thorough description of overtraining and burnout but for me, their following phrase seemed to encompass the entire feeling:
JOY! It all comes down to this simple aspect. Just like most things running, I've found that this quote is applicable to all aspects of life: training, work, etc. Try it for yourself. Just replace the previous quote with a life activity.
For me, the burnout occurred on a swim. I have never been a strong swimmer and have had some bad experiences growing up. So right off the bat, it was evident that if I had any joy from swimming it was no where close to 90%. Plus Master Swim classes aren't exactly easy. Check out what Ate Joy has to say about them:
Needless to say I burned out. It was in the middle of the swim and I hit a point where I just couldn't finish mentally and physically (a sensation that many people have described to me as bonking). The days following I felt bummed out and even got a little sick. I had it set in my mind that I was doing too much and gave up swimming completely until after the marathon.
Since then, I've finished a marathon and learned quite a bit about how much our mental conditioning plays a part in our training, racing and daily lives. One thing that was helpful was this I clinic attended several weeks before the Richmond marathon. It was entitled "Running With Your Head" and given by a Dr. Ferguson (sorry I couldn't find his first name, but he was an olympic qualifier so his information is credible).
In the clinic Dr. Ferguson described the mental aspects concerning preparing for and racing a marathon. One of his key emphasis was that there are countless things that you cannot control (weather especially) on race day, BUT one of the most important things you can control is your mind. In the weeks leading up to the race I practiced mentally by envisioning how I would run, the feelings I would go through, and how to stay positive and push through when my body wanted to quit. And it helped out a lot during the marathon because even though I bonked physically, I never quite thought that I could not finish mentally.
For me this mental conditioning has applied through all aspects of my life. If I'm having a bad day, I'll close my eyes and find several positive thoughts to help pick me up. Its even helped out a lot with swimming! If you stay mentally positive or joyful then you can accomplish great things. Besides whats the point of doing what you're doing if its not at least 90% joyful.
When running is no longer a joy for 90 percent of the miles, the rest of your life is probably affected.
JOY! It all comes down to this simple aspect. Just like most things running, I've found that this quote is applicable to all aspects of life: training, work, etc. Try it for yourself. Just replace the previous quote with a life activity.
For me, the burnout occurred on a swim. I have never been a strong swimmer and have had some bad experiences growing up. So right off the bat, it was evident that if I had any joy from swimming it was no where close to 90%. Plus Master Swim classes aren't exactly easy. Check out what Ate Joy has to say about them:
I was already beat between the warm up and those drills, but he was just getting started. I couldn’t keep up with the rest of group, but it really wasn’t about keeping up. It was an eye-opener to get pushed like that though. On my own, I never would’ve pushed that hard for that long until my arms felt completely limp.
Needless to say I burned out. It was in the middle of the swim and I hit a point where I just couldn't finish mentally and physically (a sensation that many people have described to me as bonking). The days following I felt bummed out and even got a little sick. I had it set in my mind that I was doing too much and gave up swimming completely until after the marathon.
Since then, I've finished a marathon and learned quite a bit about how much our mental conditioning plays a part in our training, racing and daily lives. One thing that was helpful was this I clinic attended several weeks before the Richmond marathon. It was entitled "Running With Your Head" and given by a Dr. Ferguson (sorry I couldn't find his first name, but he was an olympic qualifier so his information is credible).
In the clinic Dr. Ferguson described the mental aspects concerning preparing for and racing a marathon. One of his key emphasis was that there are countless things that you cannot control (weather especially) on race day, BUT one of the most important things you can control is your mind. In the weeks leading up to the race I practiced mentally by envisioning how I would run, the feelings I would go through, and how to stay positive and push through when my body wanted to quit. And it helped out a lot during the marathon because even though I bonked physically, I never quite thought that I could not finish mentally.
For me this mental conditioning has applied through all aspects of my life. If I'm having a bad day, I'll close my eyes and find several positive thoughts to help pick me up. Its even helped out a lot with swimming! If you stay mentally positive or joyful then you can accomplish great things. Besides whats the point of doing what you're doing if its not at least 90% joyful.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Richmond Marathon 2009
Happy Holidays! So I finished a marathon. Yeah, yeah, I know it was like two weeks ago but I'm a busy guy (we'll get to this more later)! Besides, I decided that I wasn't going to write a race report. You can get plenty of that stuff from Ate Joy's blog. Instead, just to stay in the holiday spirit I want to focus on what I'm thankful for with regards to this whole marathon thingymajingy.
I'm thankful that I not only finished a marathon, but I finished it healthy and in one piece!
Since I've finished the marathon, one of the first things I always tell people who are considering doing one is that its a different race than any you've ever done. For me the half is just a regular race. You run, you pace yourself, and then you finish. The marathon on the other hand consists of running, pacing, enduring, and then finishing. The enduring part was a completely new aspect of racing for me. I'm pretty sure that I bonked but I wouldn't call it a 100% bonk. I did have a new pain in my legs that I never experienced but never did the thought, "I can't do this" creep into my head and from what I understand about bonking, that's a big part of the whole ordeal.
One unhealthy thing I do have to mention though is that men should always, always, always wear something over their nips. I mentioned this fear in my Patrick Henry post:
So I finished and I'm completely fine. I even ran a mile the very next day. It wasn't pretty, but I did it anyways. I tried to drag Ate Joy out with me but she ducked me by taking a nap on the couch.
I'm thankful for all the new friends I met in the process.
One of the reasons that I decided to do the marathon was because of the Joy Run challenge. But that was not the main reason. I needed to get out of the house. I was (and still do) working from home and despite what everyone thinks ("That's awesome!") it can be a rather isolating experience (It is pretty awesome most of the time though). This combined with the fact that my wife has been working an insane schedule the past couple of years and I could see my sanity slowly slip away. There would be stretches for more than 24 hours where I would go without any human interaction. Some people like this kind of thing but not me!
Training for a marathon was the perfect thing to get me out of the house. I met so many wonderful people just from running! Who would have thought?! And a lot of them have become good friends. Which is reasonable considering that we've just spent the last six months running 700+ miles together while spilling our guts to each other in the process. Man! There's quite a number of people out there now who have some pretty good dirt on me.
I'm thankful for the new challenges that have presented themselves.
So this is the main reason why I've been MIA. Not only did I drop off of blogosphere because of the preparing and recuperating from the marathon but because I've started triathlon training. Yup! In the past couple of weeks I've bought a bike, did three spin sessions, been in the pool at least eight times, endured several strength classes, and sprinkled in a couple of runs. Oh and I threw in surfing, basketball, and football just for good measure. Its been great! I'm positive that it expedited my recovery from the marathon. Although, when I tried to wake up this morning for a run I decided to stay in bed because my body felt like it had just gotten hit by a truck.
Well Ate Joy already posted some pics from the event but she forgot to post mine! She sent me her favorites and here they are:
I'm thankful that I not only finished a marathon, but I finished it healthy and in one piece!
Since I've finished the marathon, one of the first things I always tell people who are considering doing one is that its a different race than any you've ever done. For me the half is just a regular race. You run, you pace yourself, and then you finish. The marathon on the other hand consists of running, pacing, enduring, and then finishing. The enduring part was a completely new aspect of racing for me. I'm pretty sure that I bonked but I wouldn't call it a 100% bonk. I did have a new pain in my legs that I never experienced but never did the thought, "I can't do this" creep into my head and from what I understand about bonking, that's a big part of the whole ordeal.
One unhealthy thing I do have to mention though is that men should always, always, always wear something over their nips. I mentioned this fear in my Patrick Henry post:
Now I have never had the pleasure of severe chafing or bloody nips but those are experiences I plan on living life without.For some crazy reason, I thought that body glide was going to be enough but around the halfway point I experienced insane chafing. So bad, that I feared I was going to finish up with the bloody nip run of shame. I decided that I still did not want any part of that club so I stopped for bandaids along the way. Imagine my time if I had those 5 minutes back!
So I finished and I'm completely fine. I even ran a mile the very next day. It wasn't pretty, but I did it anyways. I tried to drag Ate Joy out with me but she ducked me by taking a nap on the couch.
I'm thankful for all the new friends I met in the process.
One of the reasons that I decided to do the marathon was because of the Joy Run challenge. But that was not the main reason. I needed to get out of the house. I was (and still do) working from home and despite what everyone thinks ("That's awesome!") it can be a rather isolating experience (It is pretty awesome most of the time though). This combined with the fact that my wife has been working an insane schedule the past couple of years and I could see my sanity slowly slip away. There would be stretches for more than 24 hours where I would go without any human interaction. Some people like this kind of thing but not me!
Training for a marathon was the perfect thing to get me out of the house. I met so many wonderful people just from running! Who would have thought?! And a lot of them have become good friends. Which is reasonable considering that we've just spent the last six months running 700+ miles together while spilling our guts to each other in the process. Man! There's quite a number of people out there now who have some pretty good dirt on me.
I'm thankful for the new challenges that have presented themselves.
So this is the main reason why I've been MIA. Not only did I drop off of blogosphere because of the preparing and recuperating from the marathon but because I've started triathlon training. Yup! In the past couple of weeks I've bought a bike, did three spin sessions, been in the pool at least eight times, endured several strength classes, and sprinkled in a couple of runs. Oh and I threw in surfing, basketball, and football just for good measure. Its been great! I'm positive that it expedited my recovery from the marathon. Although, when I tried to wake up this morning for a run I decided to stay in bed because my body felt like it had just gotten hit by a truck.
Well Ate Joy already posted some pics from the event but she forgot to post mine! She sent me her favorites and here they are:
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