Paul | Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 3:22PM | 4 Comments
The payoff in terms of performance as a triathlete, a father, mother, or colleague may be tremendous if you carve out just a few minutes each day to simply clear your head. The BBC just ran a very interesting story on a medical research project that documented the mental and physical benefits from daily meditation.
MRI scans on the program clearly show the changes in brain waves as a result of quieting one's thoughts. This doesn’t require expensive shoes. It doesn’t demand a special mat. It requires only this:
1) Find a comfortable spot and close your eyes
2) Take a deep breath
3) Hold for three seconds
4) Slowly exhale
5) Continue until you are fully aware of your breathing
6) Starting with your toes, become aware of every part of your body as you slowly work your way to your head
7) Focus warm thoughts on any area that may be injured or in pain from your indoor brick
8) Become acutely aware of every noise and movement around you
When it comes to swimming in a triathlon, I’m like the slightly above-average golfer – I’m always looking for a tool that will take a second or two off every lap in the pool. As the weather finally gets colder, I will have more time than usual to focus on my catch and glide in the local YMCA pool. This season will be different. I’ll be working with a new coach – one strapped to my wrist: the Finis Swimsense watch. And I bet this tool will take more than a second or two off my T-time this year!
For those triathletes who have lived in the cave for a year, this watch was probably one of the most innovative core products to hit the market in 2011. In 2012, it was finally time for me to give it a try. The watch is a truly remarkable tool. The internal accelerometers not only keep track of your laps, but also can actually count the type of laps you swim and compute your DPS and pace. I had to try it to really understand its capabilities.
On January 1st, I met Ken, my training buddy at the normal 5:45 a.m. time at the YMCA. I was surprised at the number of people that day who chose not to sleep in on the official holiday. I used the watch for the first 45 minutes. Ken used it for the last 45 minutes of the workout.
The screen on the watch itself is extremely intuitive. I didn’t even need the manual to figure out how to configure the watch and start it. The watch does require that you set the dimensions of the pool. In our case, we were swimming the short course in 25-yard lanes. I realized very quickly that it is necessary to pause the watch during recovery periods to keep accurate counts of your laps. Both of us found the buttons on the watch easy to use in the pool.
Though you can pull up the history of your workouts, the wealth of information really comes when you upload the data to the Finis website. The site offers a very creative interface that visually depicts the timing, length, pace, and recovery periods for each workout, for each set, and for every lap within each set. I could see how my pace changed within each set and also tell where I took too long to recover.
The information is exceptionally valuable for a self-coached athlete. I’m also guessing that coaches working remotely will find the information very useful to help their athletes improve times. Better yet, the cradle and software worked flawlessly on my MacBook Pro.
Nick at Trijuice.com posted a montage over the weekend of about 20 race medals around the country. The uniqueness of the medals he posted speaks volumes about the creativity of the many great race directors involved in the sport. Medals are very cool ways to remember races long after the chafe marks have healed? One friend of mine actually said she would grab her medals if her house caught on fire. They have become very important parts of every race.
So what makes a triathlon medal more valuable than the family photo album? Here's our top five list:
1) Recalls a really good race - A medal is important only if the event itself made the time commitment worth it. Who wants to hang a piece of metal on the wall if the course didn't push you to your limit?
2) Celebrates some part of the course that you'll never forget - Sometimes it's a mountain. Other times it's a palm tree. On occasion, it's the venue itself. I personally love the old subway medallion that the NYC Triathlon hands out -- even though subway only uses cards these days!
3) Has some heft - I really don't like the plastic-like ones I have occasionally received. A good medal has to tug at your neck when you put it on.
4) Fun to feel - Embossed medals are great. Ones that have that sculptural feel really have staying power. I like ones that I can enjoy without even looking at them.
5) Doesn't stop with the medal - Some races realize that the ribbon can say even more than the medal itself. Those medals get the prime spot on my office wall
Be bold on January 1. Pick one race you'll repeat in 2012. Set a breakaway time goal. But make it very real. How fast will you have to swim? How fast must you make transitions? What's the bike pace that will get you there? How about that hard run?
Audacious goals lead to exceptional results. Take today to make a commitment. Vividly imagine what performance is required to get there. Do the math. Our own FREE iPhone app has a built in calculator that can help you do it.
Yes, it's that time of year again when we look at ourselves in the mirror, pull on our tight pants, and quietly admit to ourselves that our diet went astray in the offseason. How do you get back to where you feel good again about yourself? I firmly believe that as much as we need to manage WHAT we eat, it's much more important to manage HOW we eat. Here are 10 steps to take that will put you on the right course.
1) Step on the scales now - face the facts honestly today.
2) Figure out a realistic goal for the next 30 days - even on a highly restrictive diet, it's tough to safely lose more than 3-4 pounds.
3) Spend more time with skinny friends - good habits will rub off.
4) Throw out or hide any plate in the house that is bigger than 10 inches - use paper plates if you have to. We all tend to fill our plates until they look full, regardless of our actual hunger.
5) Put yourself on a regular daily schedule - get control of when you wake up, when you eat, when you work, when you train, and when you sleep.
6) Exercise in some way every day - keep your metabolism as high as you possibly can.
7) Don't eat while the television is on - mindless calories count a lot more than we think.
8) Step on the scale every morning - connect behavior with results.
9) Keep a food log - write down or even take pictures with your phone of every meal you eat.
10) Draw a picture of the new you on a piece of paper - create a vivid image of how you will look and what you will do when hit your weight target.
The payoff in terms of performance as a triathlete, a father, mother, or colleague may be tremendous if you carve out just a few minutes each day to simply clear your head. The BBC just ran a very interesting story on a medical research project that documented the mental and physical benefits from daily meditation.
Meditation, 
