Renovating The Walls of Your Mind...Step One: Declutter

If you've been reading this blog long, or if you know me personally, you know my mind pretty much never stops going.  Coach E says I think too much, but really, that's an understatement.  That's like saying there's too much water in the ocean...too much air in the sky...too much sand in the Sahara!!

But I think there's more to it than that.  Here's what I think...I think I not only think "too much" (okay...am I the only one who thinks that's funny?).  I also tend to think the wrong thoughts.  At least I HAVE been.  That is changing.

For a long time I have been slowly renovating my mind.  It's much like the process of remodeling an old house.  I have clutter to be sorted through.  I have old notions that need to be spruced and shined.  And I've had (have) false beliefs that had (have) to be discarded completely. 


Okay...let me just be honest, when I say "I have clutter that needs to be sorted through..." it's not like your average junk drawer, it's more like the hoarders you see on TV.   My mind is overflowing with thoughts

ALL THE TIME

and usually more than one at a time.  I have a hard time keeping things straight and a hard time easily retrieving needed information.

One of the main issues with mind clutter is that it makes it hard to remember workouts.  If I go to the pool and can't remember what I'm supposed to do, sure I can just swim for an hour, but I'm not making the best use of my time.  Also, when my mind is cluttered with all the different theories of nutrition and training out there, I get completely confused.  Do I eat carbs or not?  Do I run easy or hard?  To brick or not to brick?  Strength training should be done when?  Do I stretch before or after working out?  And the list goes on.

You have to be careful when cleaning out the clutter that you don't throw out a signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (it was worth a lot of money back in 2006, according to this site) with the manual on the TV you had back in college.  (That sentence will make sense if you see the picture that goes with this post...)  Knowing what to treasure and what to toss is hard for someone who keeps everything that "might be" useful (to someone) one day.  (I mean come on, what if someone has that TV now and needs the manual??)  In training, this is why it's important for you to know yourself better than anyone, so you can make unequivocal decisions regarding workouts, nutrition, equipment, picking out races, etc.  Or you can find a coach you can TRUST who will help navigate you through all the information out there. 

A coach should give you no more than a couple of things to really focus on at a time. These nuggets of wisdom will be different for each athlete.  A far cry from doling out information like words on the page of a book, a coach is working with each athlete in a way which serves the person best (not in the way which best inflates the coach's ego).  It doesn't sound like "look what I can do"/"listen to how I do it"/"let me tell you how to do it the right way".  Instead it starts with something like, "for you the key will be..."  The workouts might all be the same for a group working toward the same race, but the coaching for each person will look different.  One athlete might need a good swift kick in the bike shorts, whereas another might need a gentle hug of reassurance. 

Swimming form doesn't vary....oh, wait, there are actually different philosophies regarding "the best way to swim".  Well, once you've sorted through all that information, and have found one you believe in, how it's learned can vary greatly.  Beyond that, what individual athletes need to focus on branches off even further (one needs to focus on speed, one on relaxing, one on POWER...). 

Before I signed on with the e3 Tribe (note the name change: e3Trivolution.com), I was trying to focus on everything all the time.  I didn't know what I needed to work on, when, or how.  There are MANY philosophies on EVERYTHING.  Sorting through clutter is a crucial step in any remodel job....but it's an on-going process.  Anyone who has been on a construction site knows how clutter can ruin a job. 

I'll bet you want to go clean out your junk drawer now don't you??  :D

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon.  (I still need to write up the post about Pigtails and the Mach Tenn swim....now I can add to the list parts two and three of this post.  So much writing to do, so little time!)

:D

Stuck in the Mud

I've been working on two blog posts for a while now but I haven't liked either one of them enough to publish.  It's become even harder to finish them because I'm now injured.  It's difficult to write about competing vs completing or about replacing negative thoughts when all I can think about is not being able to train and the ground I'm losing as I'm laying in the bed.

So...in typical Dana fashion...I'm just going to, once again, write about me and hope at least some of you can relate!!

As you may remember from my last post, I had made a decision to really PUSH in my workouts.  I was seeing some noticeable improvements on the bike and in the swim (not so much on the run just yet).  Then, a week ago Thursday I noticed my knee started feeling a little funny.  It wasn't hurting necessarily, just feeling wonky.  I had decided there would be NO EXCUSES not to train hard (when my plan called for it...hard is hard, easy is easy), so I didn't allow a wonky knee to stop me from going out.  I reasoned that if it were anything to worry about 1) it would hurt during activity and/or 2) it would be swollen and hurt all the time.  Well....when those conditions were met, I went to the doctor.  His first assessment was that it would probably only take a session of ART (active release therapy) to get me back out there.

After he started working on me he said it might take 2 or 3....but when the swelling and pain got worse even with no activity he said we might be looking at 2-3 weeks.  (I'm holding onto hope that he's just setting my expectations high so when he says I'm good to go after a week I'll be really happy.)  We figured out it all started with a tiny little very minor bike wreck.  I basically slid on a patch of gravel, but I went down still clipped in.  He said that (wrecking while clipped in) can do funky things to knees.  It might have been fine, but I gave everything I had to every workout for the next week without regard to how my knee was feeling.

Hindsight almost always gives me a clearer perspective of what should have happened.  When my knee started feeling off, I should have taken care of it immediately.  I did ice it one day...but then went out and ran almost 4 miles of trail, pushing myself the whole time.  (It didn't hurt while I was running...only when I stopped!)  When it was hurting the next day I should have not ridden my bike at all...but I was coaching that night and didn't want to be a wimp when I was given the task to get to a certain point as quickly as I could.  I think I had the fastest speeds on that route that I've ever had...but my knee was really hurting.  I kept thinking, "SUCK IT UP...NO EXCUSES."  When I got off the bike and I couldn't put weight on that leg I realized I had made a mistake.

But...here's the thing...I didn't know what I didn't know.  I had no idea that minor little bike wreck could have even possibly done anything to me (other than the massive bruise on my hip and some minor road rash on my hands).   When my knee started feeling off, I didn't connect those dots.  But, even now, I'm glad I didn't use that as an excuse to take it easy.  Eric Charette told me one time in order to find out what my limits are it's necessary for me to push beyond them every now and then.

Taken from THIS website.

You know I really like analogies, right?  As I've been writing, I've been thinking how it's much like going muddin'.  Now...I have to be honest, I don't like muddin', not on a four-wheeler, not in a Jeep, not in a big red-neck truck.  Okay, if I'm really being honest I'd have to say I've never really even done it.  But, I can see a good comparison here.  (For all my non-countryfied readers...muddin' is when you intentionally go out and ride around in mud....to have fun.)

There's technique to it...you not only need the right "tools" (mainly tires), you have to know how to use those tools in the right way or you'll end up stuck in the mud.  But...the truth is, if you never get stuck, you probably haven't come close to reaching the limit of what you can do!!  Yes...if you get stuck all the time, you aren't taking the time to learn the skills you need but never getting stuck probably means you're playing it safe.

As far as I can remember, I've only been injured once since I started running and that was from being stupid.  This time it's really a result of trying to find my limits.  I feel like I was smart in that I went to the doctor as soon as I realized it wasn't getting better, and I've followed his instructions (ice every 2 hours, take NSAIDs, light stretching, stay off of it, and NO working out).

I won't be stuck for long.

Thanks for stopping in...by the way, you got a winch??
:D

Proving Myself Right

Pretty much ever since I started swimming, I have had the mindset of completing my workouts and completing that portion of the races I have entered.

Well...let me back up.  To be perfectly honest, I've had trouble even completing many workouts.  Sure I've had "legitimate" reasons for missing some of them, but more times than I really care to admit, I haven't even started the swim of the day out of fear.  I would get my workout and think, "really?  I can't do that!"...and I would prove myself right.  Other times I have started it thinking, "I'll never be able to finish this"...and I would prove myself right.  And....there have been other times when I thought, "I can do this...I can complete this thing"...and I have proven myself right, I "complete" it, I endure it, I survive the workout and can check it off the list.

Interestingly enough I have started every swim of every race thinking, "I will certainly complete this distance".   I have never even considered the idea I might not finish a swim in a race.  I have known I would be able to get to the finish with out having to hold onto a boat or seek assistance of any kind.  ...and I have proven myself right.

I have also never even considered the idea I would be able to compete in the swim....until recently.  I'm not sure when the idea popped in my head, but I remember it was something like, "why not?  Why can't I train to COMPETE in the swim?"  I'm positive it started with something Coach Eric said or something he posted on FaceBook, but I can't tell you what it was.  The idea is being reinforced daily as I continue to listen to Macca's book "I'm Here to Win".

I think ...no, I BELIEVE we generally prove ourselves right.  If I want to compete in my races (and I do), then I have to train with that end goal in mind.  I can't simply endure workouts; I have to WORK, I have to PUSH in my training.  I can't go into them with anything less than the thought of "I'm going to give everything I have to the task in front of me and do even more than I think is my best." ...and I have to prove myself right.

I think tomorrow's swim is the longest one I've ever done.  If it's not the longest, it certainly has the longest continuous sets I've ever done.  I'm going to say this right now....I'm not just going to endure the workout.  I'm not going to just complete the workout.  I'm going to PUSH to give all I have to it.

If I don't BELIEVE it, I can't ACHIEVE it, right Dennis??   I believe I can compete in the swim...and I'm going to start proving myself right by training that way.

Thanks for stopping in...come again soon.  I still have a post to write up about PigTails from Mach Tenn as well as the swim portion of that race.

:D