themes of the times

Deciding not to run at the Santa Barbara triathlon turned out to be a great idea. I am finally getting the volume (the correct frequency and duration) in my running and I can honestly say it has never felt "easier" to sweat it out on two feet. I just finished up a two week build period that was by far the best quality training I have put down all year. Here is a snap shot of what I have been doing since the SB tri

In the 17 days ending 2009-09-07:

	activity	#	time	miles		km		+ft
	Road Bike	10	20:44:57	350.58	(3:33)	564.2	(2:12)	13766
	Mt Bike	5	10:41:00	83.79	(7:39)	134.85	(4:45)	13303
	Trail Running	8	7:11:59	46.76	(9:14)	75.25	(5:44)	6766
	Swim	8	6:40:00	10.33	(38:43)	16.62	(24:03)
	Road Running	3	1:11:00	8.47	(8:22)	13.63	(5:12)	434
	Weights	2	50:00
	surf	1	30:00
	Total	37	47:48:56	499.93		804.56		34269

On Monday, we had planned a Palomar loop to finish out the holiday weekend but after a few people dropped out and we already put in a big weekend of training and driving so we decided to stay local. We made some calls after a casual breakfast and assembled a cyclocross crew to head for the trails. We ended up putting our bikes and bodies to the test. . .


I have had a few themes running in my head the last two weeks also and I thought I would share it out a bit.

One theme that I have been stepping into is that of confidence. I had this podcast in my ipod for about a month back in May and listened to it four of five times during my early morning paddle sessions. I always considered myself a humble student of sport and figured that confidence was just one step closer to being cocky. I kept my distance from confidence because the last thing I wanted to end up being was a cocky jock dude... Then I realized that it was just the fear about someone else misinterpreting or maybe a deeper fear that I would not live up to what I think I can do... Confidence maybe not running at the Santa Barbara Triathlon because I know I can do better than blow myself up for one race. It maybe holding back on rest days and trusting the process that my body/mind will get the rest it needs. I am seeking that confidence to set goals inside and outside of the sport that I know I can reach even when it will take a great deal of effort to get there. When I see this confidence in others it is the most inspiring thing to me and I hope my confidence will do the same for my friends.

After seeing the results from a few workouts in my WKO+ software about my power on the bike I really started thinking about the negative split theme. I have seen my power on the bike run down again and again a sub-par performance by starting out to hard. I have felt the pace slow on my run sessions or had to cut my session short because I blew up in the beginning of the workout. I have been living and training around a positive split... Partly because of lack of discipline or maybe lack of confidence that I can finish stronger than I started but mostly because lack of practicing it.

It takes practice! This is something ingrained in the way we can go about a workout and inevitably will be played out in a performance on race day if you practice it. My workouts over the last couple of weeks have been focused on finishing strong. Completing the last interval, repeat or set "better" than the one before. It is not a bad habit to ingrain into your character either. What if I can end the season much stronger, faster, healthier that when I started? What if I can be a better athlete in my 30's than I was in my 20's? What if I could be a better husband in my 40's than I am in my 30's?

All this is a lost without the theme of balance. As fortunate as I have been to log in some quality miles in the last few weeks I have also been slammed at work. Just enough balance to make me appreciate getting to sneak in a training session between meetings. I am stoked to get out and train, recover and celebrate with my friends. That is the balance that pulls me back around every time.


I am focused on keeping the balance, being confident in who I am and finishing strong! A theme I plan on keeping for life.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Marianne Williamson