I ended The "A" Game post with the suggestion to choose a positive attitude over a negative one. Easy to say, hard to do. Whether training for competition or just improving fitness, our attitude, our mental fitness, will determine our success. To improve your mental fitness, I highly recommend perusing what Marvin Zauderer has to say. I have found his work very helpful in my racing adventures but it's applicable to all areas of life. Check it out here...
http://www.marvinz.com/sportpsychology/articles.html
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
A Cause Worth Supporting
Check out Dave Zabriskie's grassroots movement to make the road safer for cyclists. Here's the link..http://yieldtolife.org/
Even if you don't ride, chances are you have a friend, sibling, spouse, parent, or child that does...here's a chance to support their passion.
A Penny for Your Thoughts....
...although I'd prefer if you'd share them for free.
It's easy to do....at the bottom of each post, just click on comments...another window will open, ask you for a username and password (anonymous comments are not allowed)...once you've signed in, leave your thoughts, comments, questions. Look forward to hearing from you.
It's easy to do....at the bottom of each post, just click on comments...another window will open, ask you for a username and password (anonymous comments are not allowed)...once you've signed in, leave your thoughts, comments, questions. Look forward to hearing from you.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Your Attention Please
Quick, easy to do test measuring your attentiveness and awareness...click here if you think you can pass... http://www.dothetest.co.uk/
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The "A" Game
Attitude....how it's defined...
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
–noun
1.
manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, esp. of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes.
2.
position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.: a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.
Attitude...how it defines us...
"While a positive attitude doesn't always work, a negative attitude almost always does. " (Mind Gym, author Gary Mack)
When faced with any type of challenge you can tell yourself "I can do this....I am capable....I will work hard...I will improve" or "I can't do this...I don't have the ability...Everyone else is so much better"...either way you'll be right. The choice is yours.
I encourage you to choose to believe in yourself. Your attitude is everything...so bring your A game.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
–noun
1.
manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, esp. of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes.
2.
position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.: a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.
Attitude...how it defines us...
"While a positive attitude doesn't always work, a negative attitude almost always does. " (Mind Gym, author Gary Mack)
When faced with any type of challenge you can tell yourself "I can do this....I am capable....I will work hard...I will improve" or "I can't do this...I don't have the ability...Everyone else is so much better"...either way you'll be right. The choice is yours.
I encourage you to choose to believe in yourself. Your attitude is everything...so bring your A game.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
A New Season for a New You
With a new season comes the opportunity to set new goals for a healthier, more active, and athletic you! Whether you're a seasoned athlete or just beginning your athletic journey, here's a few training tips...
1. Set realistic expectations and goals- Clearly define what improvements you want to make and what athletic events you want to complete, the more detailed the better. Then honestly assess how much time you are willing and able to spend training to make the changes necessary to reach your goals. In doing so, take into consideration your current fitness level, the demands of your job, family, friends, relationships, and your other interests so you can plan accordingly. You can avoid disappointments and burnout if you set goals that are realistic within the context of your life.
2. Give yourself time to prepare for an event- Whether you’re training for your first 10k, marathon, triathlon, century ride, or if you're an experienced competitor taking it to the next level, allow a minimum of 6 months to prepare for your event. Your body needs time to make the necessary physiological adaptations (increased muscular strength, increased connective tissue strength, increased cardiovascular and circulatory capacity) required for competition. If you allow ample time to prepare, you’ll avoid the stress and anxiety that occurs when you miss training sessions due to other life demands, injury, or illness. You want to avoid feeling that you’re running out of time to increase your fitness for your event. Also, when you have time to prepare, you’re more likely to take a rest/recovery day when necessary. Doing so will improve your overall training experience and help reduce the risk of injury, illness, and overtraining.
3. Create a plan- Plan your training sessions on a weekly basis, monthly if possible. Schedule when, where, and what type of training you plan to do each day and put it on your calendar. Once this time is scheduled to train, don’t change it. The hardest part of training is showing up. So plan it, schedule it, do it.
4. Tailor your training to your event- Training specificity is vital to your success in athletic endeavours. We perfect what we practice. While cross training is beneficial to prevent overuse injuries, as your event nears your training should mimic the demands of your event as much as possible. Also, how much you train depends on the distance of your event. For example, triathlon training will differ for sprint, olympic, half-ironman, and ironman distances. Typically, you should expect to train 6-10 hours/week for sprint distances, 7-15 hours/week for olympic and half-ironman, and 8-16 hours/week for ironman. These are very general guidelines and will vary for each individual. Most importantly, avoid the temptation of following another person’s plan since it may not be appropriate for your fitness level and event distance.
5. Increase your training incrementally-As your fitness improves change your training load first by increasing frequency (train more days per week), then increase duration (lengthen training sessions, increase distances), and lastly increase intensity (intervals, speed skills, timed efforts). Following this progression will help you increase the workload appropriately in relation to your fitness level.
6. Schedule recovery days- Actively plan days to rest from training. Use these days to recover physically and mentally, just rest. Physically you need to rest so your body can regenerate. You’ll have more energy to train after a rest day so make these your harder days. Mentally you need a break on a regular basis so you can stay focused and motivated to get the most out of your training sessions.
Lastly, enjoy the process of improving yourself and achieving new levels of fitness.
1. Set realistic expectations and goals- Clearly define what improvements you want to make and what athletic events you want to complete, the more detailed the better. Then honestly assess how much time you are willing and able to spend training to make the changes necessary to reach your goals. In doing so, take into consideration your current fitness level, the demands of your job, family, friends, relationships, and your other interests so you can plan accordingly. You can avoid disappointments and burnout if you set goals that are realistic within the context of your life.
2. Give yourself time to prepare for an event- Whether you’re training for your first 10k, marathon, triathlon, century ride, or if you're an experienced competitor taking it to the next level, allow a minimum of 6 months to prepare for your event. Your body needs time to make the necessary physiological adaptations (increased muscular strength, increased connective tissue strength, increased cardiovascular and circulatory capacity) required for competition. If you allow ample time to prepare, you’ll avoid the stress and anxiety that occurs when you miss training sessions due to other life demands, injury, or illness. You want to avoid feeling that you’re running out of time to increase your fitness for your event. Also, when you have time to prepare, you’re more likely to take a rest/recovery day when necessary. Doing so will improve your overall training experience and help reduce the risk of injury, illness, and overtraining.
3. Create a plan- Plan your training sessions on a weekly basis, monthly if possible. Schedule when, where, and what type of training you plan to do each day and put it on your calendar. Once this time is scheduled to train, don’t change it. The hardest part of training is showing up. So plan it, schedule it, do it.
4. Tailor your training to your event- Training specificity is vital to your success in athletic endeavours. We perfect what we practice. While cross training is beneficial to prevent overuse injuries, as your event nears your training should mimic the demands of your event as much as possible. Also, how much you train depends on the distance of your event. For example, triathlon training will differ for sprint, olympic, half-ironman, and ironman distances. Typically, you should expect to train 6-10 hours/week for sprint distances, 7-15 hours/week for olympic and half-ironman, and 8-16 hours/week for ironman. These are very general guidelines and will vary for each individual. Most importantly, avoid the temptation of following another person’s plan since it may not be appropriate for your fitness level and event distance.
5. Increase your training incrementally-As your fitness improves change your training load first by increasing frequency (train more days per week), then increase duration (lengthen training sessions, increase distances), and lastly increase intensity (intervals, speed skills, timed efforts). Following this progression will help you increase the workload appropriately in relation to your fitness level.
6. Schedule recovery days- Actively plan days to rest from training. Use these days to recover physically and mentally, just rest. Physically you need to rest so your body can regenerate. You’ll have more energy to train after a rest day so make these your harder days. Mentally you need a break on a regular basis so you can stay focused and motivated to get the most out of your training sessions.
Lastly, enjoy the process of improving yourself and achieving new levels of fitness.
Beyond Words
Kristy, Matt, Christopher, John, Pat, MaryAnn, just to name a few....all killed or seriously injured while pedaling. Overwhelming sadness resurfaces with each name added to the list. Sadness at the loss of life, the lives changed forever, and the inevitable question...do I quit the sport I love to stay safe?
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