Inspirational embers from Torino 2006 hibernate in my mind. It’s the guys with their snug suits, thin skis and accurate guns. Graceful lumberjacks in touch with the earth. The aesthetics of colour, power and flow of these mountain athletes stimulate my urgency to get out in the chill, to train more, to go faster.
But with dark dawns and dreary dusks held together by Winter’s unnerving vice, the elements slowly chip away at my resolve. And all I’m left with are the mantra of others who have gone before, “this will make you stronger”, “train hard while your opponents rest”, “belief helps stretch limitations”.
If I was forced to have my mantra tattooed, it’d have to be the favoured quote of Vinegar Joe, the US General who led the Allied forces in Asia during World War II:
Non illigitamus carborundum
The Love
It’s been over a month since Giacomo (aka Jake the Muss) made an appearance and that, together with a nasty chest cough, threatened to sap my reserves and stifle my self-imposed training regime. I’ve taken a step back, had a rethink and started eliminating things from my life which slow me down and don’t make me feel the love.
Above all else, you’ve got to feel the love.
Otherwise life’s one mean son of a gun. It’ll chew you up and spit you out. Destabilisation of the mind and mojo leakage threatens our existence in the 21st century. You’ve got to do soul housecleaning. Get rid of the barnacles which have grown to the hull of your boat, and start to think of the waters beyond the harbour walls. And you have to do more than think it. You have to write it down and stick the post-it note to your mirror. So when you face yourself in the morning, you remind yourself why you got up at 5.30am.
GOALS
- Family – be a good dad and husband
- Create own position within the company
- Manage expectations
- 3 x 100-km back-to-back run weeks
- Simplify
- Write monthly articles
- Set aside relax time on weekends
- Sub 5-hour Florida 70.3 (less weight, more power, more aero)
- Feel the Love
- Cook more healthy foods
Time is Fleeting
One of the dudettes asked me, where do you find the time to get out there? Writing down goals is one thing, but finding the time to make it happen quite another. In this modern world of finger tip information you can google a million experts for their sage time-saving advice. Information overload and the resulting narcotisation is, to me, the largest obstacle we have to endure.
Lance Armstrong and the pain-mongers out there who carve their way into the record books have one important thing that us nine-to-fivers don’t. Unlimited recovery time. While we sit silently at our computer screens, shelled from a hard morning bike, we switch our bodies off and let the mind get us through the day to the next training session. After a big ride, the pros take a nap. After our big ride, that’s when the real work starts.
We have to be practical about finding time to get out there and play on our bikes, run through the woods or splash around in the pool. Practical about how much time there is in the day and how many mojo-beans we have in the bank. Here’s how I see it:
Top 10 Tips for the Time Troubled Triathlete
How to squeeze more time out of your day for training...
- Write down your plan. It’s harder to lie to yourself in ink
- Get more sleep. If you’re not in bed by 10.30pm, skip the morning session. You need the rest more
- Don’t burn the nitrous oxide too early in the season. Save it for race day
- Shave your head. Saves on barber, gel and coiffure time. Think GI Jane
- Cut back on the TV. If you want to watch Jack Bauer in 24, ride your turbo, or do 10 push ups every time someone says the word “CTU” or “terrorist”
- Run at lunch. Feed off the energy from their stares
- Know where to get fresh fruit. Quickly
- Jettison the excess baggage
- Prepare for everything the night before
- Whenever you hear someone say ”last round”, drink a pint of water
Non illigitamus carborundum
Don't let the bastards grind you down.
See you on the other side,
RobbyRicc
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