Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
SportExcel
One of Mercury Rising Triathlon's sponsors is SportExcel -- "The high performance system for athletes and coaches who want to "Own the Zone and Own the Game."
Bob Palmer (owner/operator) has some great videos and tips on mental training. His youtube channel has some really good stuff: http://www.youtube.com/user/SportExcelZone?feature=watch
AND...
I was a guest vlogger this week on his blog!!!!!! YAY!!! Check it out here: http://sportexcelzone.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/cool-down-stretching-tip-for-triathletes/
(Theia -- get off your work computer and find one that lets you watch my videos!!! LOL!!)
Bob Palmer (owner/operator) has some great videos and tips on mental training. His youtube channel has some really good stuff: http://www.youtube.com/user/SportExcelZone?feature=watch
AND...
I was a guest vlogger this week on his blog!!!!!! YAY!!! Check it out here: http://sportexcelzone.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/cool-down-stretching-tip-for-triathletes/
(Theia -- get off your work computer and find one that lets you watch my videos!!! LOL!!)
Monday, January 23, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Throw that log on the fire
How do you deal with the negative crap in your life?
You know what I am talking about -- those comments from a friend or family member, or my personal favourite, a complete stranger in regards to your training. I don't know what it is about training that brings out the strangest qualities in people....
Every gym has one of those guys...the guy that will come up to you and tell you what you should be doing, how everything you are doing is wrong, etc. More often than not, this sort of advice is totally off the mark and WRONG. We've all experienced it!
I used to get sucked in and engage the person and try to explain why I was doing things the way I was doing. This course of action never ever works. Because whoever (whomever?) is giving you so much unsolicited and let's face it bad advice, is uninterested in rational conversation.
He/she is only interested in hearing themselves talk and being told how right they are. It doesn't matter what you say or do...this type of person will not stop picking apart and criticizing you. God could come down out of the sky and throw a thunderbolt into the ground beside the person, and still, he/she would continue to ramble on about how you are:
Some of you might be reading this and think -- "WTF? If someone stopped me mid-lap (length? I still don't know which is which! lol) I'd go from simmer to boil in 2 seconds flat!"
The question then becomes, how to distinguish between the two types of people? Is it just me and my perceptions (ie ego) that are labelling people either "friend" or "foe?"
I've given this a lot of thought and here is what I have come up with...
YES there are two different types of people.
YES, sometimes it is just my emotions and ego getting in the way.
When I remove my emotions from the equation, things become much clearer, much faster. Now, for those of you who know me, removing my emotions from ANYTHING is a task unto itself! I've always been hyper. My default reaction is to laugh. I get really excited about anything, really fast. Like turning up the volume dial to 10 as fast as you can. That's me in a nutshell.
I take everything personally. My heart is on my sleeve. I can't lie -- well I can, but it is so embarrassingly obvious that it will make you cringe if you see me in action.
Fortunately, I can change. ;) Occasionally I hop off the hamster wheel of habitual responses and learn from my mistakes! YAY!
It was during one such sojourn off the hamster wheel that I developed an effective strategy in dealing with my emotionally-fuelled responses.
I call it The Objective Observer (TOO). He/she doesn't even have a gender -- that's how obective he/she is! lol. The TOO inside myself looks at any situation without the muddying interference of emotions. TOO gives me clarity. Oh yes, it really does work. :D
Let me give you an example...
"Why is your coach having you do so much training? You are doing way more than (insert name of any person that is faster than me)." -- Subtle as a sledgehammer here, eh?
Before TOO, I would start defending my coach, my coach's plan, myself. Not realizing that all the while, I was watering this negative seed with self-doubt and helping it grow.
Now, my reaction is to smile and nod. It works every time. People shut right up as soon as you agree with them. Its funny to see how quickly the diatribe stops when you agree with someone. The picture that comes to mind is of the Road Runner spinning his legs so fast but not going anywhere.
So, if you ever hear me get quiet and then agree with you over something....you'll know you've just been TOO'ed. Heh-heh-heh.
You know what I am talking about -- those comments from a friend or family member, or my personal favourite, a complete stranger in regards to your training. I don't know what it is about training that brings out the strangest qualities in people....
Every gym has one of those guys...the guy that will come up to you and tell you what you should be doing, how everything you are doing is wrong, etc. More often than not, this sort of advice is totally off the mark and WRONG. We've all experienced it!
I used to get sucked in and engage the person and try to explain why I was doing things the way I was doing. This course of action never ever works. Because whoever (whomever?) is giving you so much unsolicited and let's face it bad advice, is uninterested in rational conversation.
He/she is only interested in hearing themselves talk and being told how right they are. It doesn't matter what you say or do...this type of person will not stop picking apart and criticizing you. God could come down out of the sky and throw a thunderbolt into the ground beside the person, and still, he/she would continue to ramble on about how you are:
- not gliding enough in the water
- gliding too much in the water
- look completely uncomfortable in the water
- biking hills the wrong way
- running in a poor style
- blah, blah, blah
It goes on and on.
Some of you might be reading this and think -- "WTF? If someone stopped me mid-lap (length? I still don't know which is which! lol) I'd go from simmer to boil in 2 seconds flat!"
The question then becomes, how to distinguish between the two types of people? Is it just me and my perceptions (ie ego) that are labelling people either "friend" or "foe?"
I've given this a lot of thought and here is what I have come up with...
YES there are two different types of people.
YES, sometimes it is just my emotions and ego getting in the way.
When I remove my emotions from the equation, things become much clearer, much faster. Now, for those of you who know me, removing my emotions from ANYTHING is a task unto itself! I've always been hyper. My default reaction is to laugh. I get really excited about anything, really fast. Like turning up the volume dial to 10 as fast as you can. That's me in a nutshell.
I take everything personally. My heart is on my sleeve. I can't lie -- well I can, but it is so embarrassingly obvious that it will make you cringe if you see me in action.
Fortunately, I can change. ;) Occasionally I hop off the hamster wheel of habitual responses and learn from my mistakes! YAY!
It was during one such sojourn off the hamster wheel that I developed an effective strategy in dealing with my emotionally-fuelled responses.
I call it The Objective Observer (TOO). He/she doesn't even have a gender -- that's how obective he/she is! lol. The TOO inside myself looks at any situation without the muddying interference of emotions. TOO gives me clarity. Oh yes, it really does work. :D
Let me give you an example...
"Why is your coach having you do so much training? You are doing way more than (insert name of any person that is faster than me)." -- Subtle as a sledgehammer here, eh?
Before TOO, I would start defending my coach, my coach's plan, myself. Not realizing that all the while, I was watering this negative seed with self-doubt and helping it grow.
Now, my reaction is to smile and nod. It works every time. People shut right up as soon as you agree with them. Its funny to see how quickly the diatribe stops when you agree with someone. The picture that comes to mind is of the Road Runner spinning his legs so fast but not going anywhere.
So, if you ever hear me get quiet and then agree with you over something....you'll know you've just been TOO'ed. Heh-heh-heh.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thoughts...
I don't know if any of you have heard or have been following the story of Sherry Arnold? 43 year old Mom that went out for a run at 6:30am and never returned. 5 days ago. From this little community in Montana of only 5000 people. They have found one of her running shoes in a ditch beside a "truck route."
The cold snippets of facts: one shoe.
Every day I have run since she has disappeared, I have asked myself, "What would cause me to lose one shoe?" There is no way I would ever take off my frigging shoe and wander away -- like one reporter on a news story suggested. Seriously, can you imagine falling down and getting disoriented and wandering away without your frigging shoe and not returning home. Man, for some reason this infuriates me. Probably because I feel so helpless about this. But it really PEES me off.
I make a point of not watching the news -- and the only reason I heard about Sherry's disappearance was because I clicked over to check out the blog Shut Up and Run. Sherry is her cousin.
This story is constantly in my mind. So many of my friends, including myself are dedicated runners/athletes. Going out for solo runs all the time. It's a part of our lifestyle. The idea that this could happen to one of my friends, a member of my family, even me is mind-numbing and surreal.
My prayers are with Sherry and her family.
The cold snippets of facts: one shoe.
Every day I have run since she has disappeared, I have asked myself, "What would cause me to lose one shoe?" There is no way I would ever take off my frigging shoe and wander away -- like one reporter on a news story suggested. Seriously, can you imagine falling down and getting disoriented and wandering away without your frigging shoe and not returning home. Man, for some reason this infuriates me. Probably because I feel so helpless about this. But it really PEES me off.
I make a point of not watching the news -- and the only reason I heard about Sherry's disappearance was because I clicked over to check out the blog Shut Up and Run. Sherry is her cousin.
This story is constantly in my mind. So many of my friends, including myself are dedicated runners/athletes. Going out for solo runs all the time. It's a part of our lifestyle. The idea that this could happen to one of my friends, a member of my family, even me is mind-numbing and surreal.
My prayers are with Sherry and her family.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
An interview with my coach.....
Check out an interview I did with my coach Sara Gross about her experience racing two Ironman races only 7 days apart....and placing in the top ten in BOTH. AWESOME!!!!!
http://saragross.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-julie.html
http://saragross.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-julie.html
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