Turning Points

A lot of the time we try to convince ourselves of things. We try to either make an excuse or justify our actions and decisions. Its really easy to tell yourself that everything is "okay." I mean come on we do it on a regular basis in training and in life am I right? In both realms I'd advise you not too; wish I could only take my own advice...

There comes a turning point in everyone's training when they look for a better way. The athlete finally get sick and tired of being injured, chronically fatigued or the "time" factor in their life will simply no longer allow for their old training protocol.

I am receiving a lot of inquiries from interested endurance athletes trying to make the switch from traditional endurance training to CrossFit Endurance and the same questions keep coming up. Mostly in the realm of volume. How much is needed?

First off - ditch the 20+ mile training run for your marathon. Costs far out way the benefits on that one. CFE is not anti-volume, it's about the timing of it and what you can handle.

Starting out? 3 WODs per week while adding 2 CFE sport specific workouts. If you haven't been crossfitting make sure you develop your base first. This is never a better time to get yourself on tape. Clear the technique while gradually testing it against intensity.

Do I have to give up my morning 3-5mile run? Guys, let's face it you're not going to do that right away. Turning completely to CFE takes time. Keep that, but take off a couple days for your CFE sport stuff. Once you feel more confident and see the results in your PRs then you can decide what to do...

Are you open to change? Sometimes the timing just isn't right. We get to decisions in our training where we say "I am going to completely back it off for a month, focus on THIS aspect and then jump into races" The question comes do you stick to the intention? I wrote in my training journal no running for 30days after Ironman for recovery purposes. Made it 34days. The fact is I was ready. Flip the coin and I have completely bailed on a decision...

Go with your gut ... Will it really benefit you to go run 8miles when you crushed a 20minute AMRAP this morning and your legs still feel like rubber? We have to make decisions every day with our training. Don't be biased. Don't make the decision because you enjoy working out more or that you felt like the the morning "Wasn't enough"

The last two months I have been faced with more turning points than I can count. Not just in training, but in life. Our brains are good at the functional tasks. Pedaling the bike and pressing the weight overhead is easy, but backing off your training because you're fatigued is a whole other task. An emotional one. Emotions play the biggest role in our decisions. We can't let them in training. The toughest part about emotions is that nobody ever has complete control and if they say they do that's a complete lie. Remember that switching to the "CrossFit Endurance Lifestyle" is foreign to you. It won't be easy. You will be emotional.

I'm not one to talk. I still find myself wanting to go out and "just run" and that's okay. All we need to understand is that in life and training there are critical workouts and decisions. There is a foundation. We wont always hit every workout the strongest or always make the right decision, but we have to remember to just run at times.

When you recognize its something you're doing to hold yourself back you can accept it and move on. You allow yourself to move on. It's your responsibility to figure it out. Dragging others into your problems or indecisiveness isn't very much fun and isn't fair. Take calculate steps in your transition. Emotions will be there. Admit it...

Last Race Performance 

Hilton Head Bridge Run 5K and 10K
Date: October 22nd, 2012 
Time: 37:08
Place: 3rd Overall Male

Notables - 5 out 5 CrossFit Hilton Head Endurance athletes picked up a medal at this one! Athlete Lynn happened to PR her 5K again (23:09) and picked up 2nd Overall for the Females. Evidence typically answers the questions about our training.

My biggest TURNING POINT to date. Check out a special video my best friend made me... 

Lead Your Life

The era we live in belongs to people who believe in themselves, but are focused on the needs of others. And those people have three things in common:

1) They learn every day
2) They have the courage to live their dreams
3) They build trust in others

By doing this they lead a life that is fulfilling, interesting and fun.
-Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO for General Electric.

 

I love reading. Wish I had the time and discipline to do it more often, especially during the week. If you walk into my condo you'll see a book shelf filled with nutrition, running, and triathlon books, but also a good many self-improvement books.  These are the ones that really give me a high. They allow me perspective on how I can do better. Be better. The fact is we only get one shot at this thing called life so why not go all in? Why not become our best selves?

September 2012 and up until today will go down in the books as the most mentally exhausting month of my life. Many endurance athletes talk about this, "Post-race Blues Syndrome." PBS (we'll abbreviate) is a diagnosis where athletes tend to feel down and out after preparing so long for the "A Race" that when the day is all said and done they don't know what to do with themselves after. It can sometimes throw many athletes close to a state of depression.

Now I was in no means depressed, but I think PBS had an impact on my thoughts, decision making, and actions this month. I am a very impulsive guy, and those who know me understand my excitement level at times and how quickly it gets fostered. What I do know about myself is that I do believe in me. I do believe in what I do every single day. And I know that the 3 things Jeffrey Immelt speaks about are inside me more than ever ...

1. I learned that I need to be more decisive. Trust MY instinct. The gut feeling. In a way, I can't let every voice impact me. I need to make the final decision. I need to see all angles before deciding. I need make sure all decisions are closely inline with the dream. Training analogy? Listen to your body. Every approach should be different than the guy next to you because you're different. The more decisive you get with your training and the more you focus on all angles the better off you'll be.

2. I renewed my courage to tackle many opportunities. The ones that I truly want. Hard work creates opportunities, but it takes courage to follow those opportunities. My dream is to help people. To keep helping people. To show them that becoming the best versions of them is the only choice. Training analogy? Have courage to go after that distance that seems impossible. Don't let anything stand in your way. Be confident that your mindset is the biggest predictor of you crossing that finish line. It takes a lot of courage to even step up to that line.

3. What's interesting about this one is that if you don't follow the first two you can't build trust in others. The only way to build trust in the people around you is to learn from your mistakes. Take notice of the areas you can improve. What you can do differently. You must also follow your dreams because people who don't have that type of courage aren't very trustworthy. They don't do things for the right reasons. They may even lie to achieve certain things in their life. The best way to build trust is to: 1. Show people you are learning 2. Prove with your actions that you have learned and continue to learn 3. That you're following your dreams. The purpose for you being here on this planet. That's how you build trust in others ...

By taking a step back this stretch, I feel like I am back to leading a life that is fulfilling, interesting and fun ... how about you?

LAST RACE:
10/6/2012
Beaufort Shrimp 5K Run
Time: 18:24
Place: 2nd Overall

Report - 2nd run since Ironman Louisville. Yes I said 2nd time running since 8/26/12. I am still about 80% with a little knee tendonitis lingering around my left knee. (Mainly because I am not doing enough SMR). It's exciting to be back though. I have switched my focus back on the run in hopes of PRing the marathon and getting back to Boston in 2014 for redemption. Our Endurance athletes are looking good and are primed for our "A" Race in Savannah now only 20 days away!!!

Athlete Shout Out - Lynn N hit another 5K PR at this race. The funny thing is that the course was 3.18 clocked on my GPS and had a bridge in the middle of it. Obviously her PR is a little bit faster based off how slow the course was.
Congratulations Lynn!

I am so excited for her to cross the Savannah Rock N Roll MARATHON finish line in a few short weeks...