Your best just got better

Who's coaching you?

I am a proponent of Peer-to-Peer coaching.

Find someone who can help lead your way. Ideally, this will be someone with more experience than you in the area into which you are expanding. Start by drafting a mind-map of all the people who have been influential in your life – before high school and beyond. After 5 or 10 minutes, you should have a significant inventory of people to contact.

The foundation to this kind of coaching exchange is the following:

You know some things, and they know some things. They may not know what you know, and you may not know what they know...so, you get together. Make it fair, keep it balanced - exchange ideas, dreams, goals and information. Together you may get further along.

I am doing this kind of coaching with 3 people. We share phone calls every 6-10 days. One call, we talk about them, the next we talk about me. We ask each other clarifying questions, and we "remind" each other of the deals we made, or the agreements we took on. It's great! Give it a try...

Strawberry Fields Triathlon, 2006

Well, I'm racing this weekend...flying back from Cleveland to show up for a Sprint Distance race early Sunday morning. I've heard that the water will be chilly, the bike portion is fast, and the run is a "bit" shorter than 5K... If anyone is around to watch a fun race (will be 'bout an hour, start to finish) come on out...we'll see you there.

Consistency is Temporary

Huh?

Really though, if you stop and think about it, many of your habits have come and gone...and some have come back again.

Quick, grab a piece of paper and write down your last 4 workouts. What did you do? Where did you go? How long did you exercise for? Who was there?

Going into the second quarter of the year, consider developing a list of 3-4 things you'd like to do consistently, temporarily (make sense?).

A teacher once told me, "Experiment, experiment, experiment." And then, I love Bruce Lee's advice, "Find out what works," and do more of it!

Gettin' ready for Wildflower '06

Well, it's that time of year again! In less than 7 weeks, I'll meet my brother and over 2,500 other athletes for the annual Jamba Juice Triathlons (yes, there are actually 3 races in one weekend!). As we're preparing for this event, there are more and more opportunities to "equip" ourselves for the weekend...yup, we can even "rent" a wetsuit! I've been a HUGE Aquaman suit fan since starting triathlon in '01. But, with this deal from Xterra, I'm half-way convinced to try it out.

By the way, if you're interested in finding out about this for an upcoming event, e-mail: Jim@wetsuitrental.com, or visit the site.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Ok, so for those of us to "take to the air" as our normal commute, I thought I'd share a few tips and tricks for keeping myself healthy on the road.

"Drink water."

This is my motto while I'm flying. In fact, I'll often ask the F/A (flight attendant) to bring me water, or refill my glass, as often as they can. Yes, in a four-hour, LAX-ORD flight, I've been known to drink 10-15 glasses of water. Flying is dehydrating.

Not only that, more often than not, I've worked out prior to traveling, so my body needs that extra litle bit to keep going and healing.

For those of you who are in a car, or at a desk, for your jobs, on Monday buy a 6-pack of water bottles (you choose the size) and see if you can get through one a day for the entire week. Maybe even set a little alarm for the early afternoon, "Drink water."

Maximizing your (workout) time

I first "fell into" sports psychology as a left-fielder for my high school baseball team in the 1980's. At the beginning of one season, our coach had us write goals...I remember some to this day:

+Lead the team in walks

+On-base % over .300

+Steal second base at least once

There were more, and he really encouraged us to "go for it." What amazes me now (although I didn't "get it" then) was how much work he did with us to get the whole team to buy into the vision each individual had. It was awesome. I don't remember anyone making fun of my goals; I don't remember not believing in theirs.

A mentor of mine, Marshall, wrote a nice blog-piece that reminds me just how important the mental game is to our ongoing success. Check it out over here...

Boulder, Colorado in the spring

 

What a great visit to Boulder, CO last week! I'll have more to comment on regarding my two appointments at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. Suffice it to say, for now, that I am more prepared - with information about sports nutrition and physiology - than I have EVER been at the start of a race season.

It's good time, too. I'm getting ready to run (an endurance workout) in a 10K this Saturday, and to race (yes...a race!) in the Strawberry Fields Triathlon on March 26th.

Among the many highlights of the Boulder trip was this view from our room toward the snow-capped mountains. It was a beautiful sight!

What do you need to check...and when?

If you're in the market for a GREAT book, I am really recommending this one strongly in seminars and coaching. After a recommendation from a friend of mine, I bought it on the way home from lunch in Los Angeles. The next flight out to New York, I read it twice (for hints on reading more, and getting more out of what you read, see what my friend Matt wrote after we talked a while back...)

I'm going to do a more complete "book review" over on the other blog-site, but for now, just let me say how important I'm making the "debrief" section of life.

Each workout, each article, each seminar...it all needs a rigorous, procedure-based, complete review to capture lessons learned.

It shall be done...

I re-read a classic this weekend, "The Go-Getter." Originally (I think) written in the 1920's, it's the story of persistence, focus and determination. The examples work (buying a vase, taking a train, securing a job), and the story is amazing...

True or not, it's these kinds of tales that really do make me think "the sky IS the limit." As you're reading this, and thinking of the whole "balancing-life game," what kinds of things are on the radar to "go and get?"

In reach...so reach for it!

Keep a bowl of fresh fruit available - at home, at your desk, at your workspace (in the cooler months, an apple in the car cup-holder will be good a day or so).

Place a bowl or basket of fruit on your counter at home and/or on your desk at work. Availability is everything. If it's there, you're more likely to eat it. Bananas, apples, kiwis and oranges tend to be relatively "portable" fruits; bring them around with you as well. On the road a BUNCH  this year (I leave for Boulder Monday, will come home Friday - will be in a hotel 4 nights), I always grab a piece or two of fruit at the "departing airport." Something to snack on while flying, other than the pretzels packages that are smaller and smaller - it's one key to my nutrition success.