Success versus Excellence...

I didn't write the following, but I thought it was outstanding and timely.  It should also be said that the goal of our performances in competition and business at NICE TRI! is that of excellence.

Please read:

A QUEST FOR EXCELLENCE 

Success is often measured by comparison to others. Excellence, on the other hand, is all about being the best we can be and maximizing our gifts, talents and abilities to perform at our highest potential. 

We live in a world that loves to focus on success and loves to compare. We are all guilty of doing this. However, I believe that to be our best we must focus more on excellence and less on success. We must focus on being the best we can be and realize that our greatest competition is not someone else but ourselves. 

For example, coaching legend John Wooden often wouldn’t tell his players who they were playing each game. He felt that knowing the competition was irrelevant. He believed that if his team played to the best of their ability they would be happy with the outcome. In fact, John Wooden never focused on winning. He had his team focus on teamwork, mastering the fundamentals, daily improvement and the process that excellence requires. As a result he and his teams won A LOT. 

A focus on excellence was also the key for golfing legend Jack Nicklaus. His secret was to play the course not the competition. He simply focused on playing the best he could play against the course he was playing. While others were competing against Jack, he was competing against the course and himself. 

The same can be said for Apple’s approach with the iPod, iPhone and iPad. When they created these products they didn’t focus on the competition. Instead they focused on creating the best product they could create. As a result, rather than measuring themselves against others they have become the measuring stick. 

We have a choice as individuals, organizations and teams. We can focus on success and spend our life looking around to see how our competition is doing, or we can look straight ahead towards the vision of greatness we have for ourselves and our teams. We can look at competition as the standard or as an indicator of our progress towards our own standards. We can chase success or we can embark on a quest for excellence and focus 100% of our energy to become our best... and let success find us. Ironically, when our goal is excellence the outcome and byproduct is often success.

Hard to breathe when you run? Read this!

I settled down last evening with my trusty training partner "Watts" to enjoy a good book, but since I couldn't find one, I read a chapter on Human Anatomy and Physiology.

But before we get started, here's a video of Watts on his latest training run:

Obviously his muscles aren't fully developed yet, which leads us into our discussion.

Just before dozing off into a blissful rest after nearing the end of the chapter on the respiratory system, I found something that I thought the athletes that I train with might find interesting.  Here is an excerpt from "The Essentials of Exercise Science":

"The muscles of respiration adapt to regular exercise training, as do the locomotor skeletal muscles.  Regular endurance exercise increases the oxidative capacity of respiratory muscles, which improves respiratory muscle endurance.  This is important because respiratory muscles have been shown to fatigue with exercise, adversely affecting the ability to breathe during both moderate-and high-intensity activities.  Improving respiratory muscles endurance enhances exercise performance at various intensities".

So there you have it!  If you're having difficulty breathing easily while exercising - be patient!  It does take the body time to adapt to the workload, but eventually there will be an improvement in your ability to breathe during bouts of intense (and even moderate) exercise!

Fastest RAT on 2 wheels (recap)...

Tuesday August 3rd was the annual 40k time trial for the Rochester Area Triathletes at Webster Park.  Athletes met at 6pm and the first rider was scheduled to go out at 6:30.

Several of the Team NiceTri! Athletes were there to get some training data for the planned 60 minute ride.  Chuck Waterman was sporting an Aero Jacket rear disc cover for the Zipp 303, and Alvah Aldrich was recovering from anemia but did his best nonetheless.  Paul Thomas was ready to stay in the drops for the 40 kilometer course, and that is precisely what he did.  Nice effort, team!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, with a typical westerly breeze off the lake at about 10 mph.  I had hoped this would die off by the time I hit the turnaround, but it didn't quite work out that way.

Our Team is coming off of a build period that has left their legs feeling rubbery and lethargic.  No one was peaked for this time trial, but the goal was to establish a power and heart rate zone and use it as a training event.

The trick with time trials seems to be pacing one's effort over the course of the race.  There were some hills before the turnaround that could blow the pacing effort if the powermeter (or heart rate monitor) wasn't watched closely enough.

After looking at my power file from the event, the 60 minute wattage did seem low, and the total time for the ride should have been much shorter with fresh legs.  If we keep in mind that this is just a training event and not an "A" class race, it's not quite as discouraging.  We'll have to go back to the venue and test again once we have recovered!

Here are the NiceTri! results from the time trial.  Well done, team!  NiceTri! is home to some of the fastest RATs on 2 wheels!

Overall Finishing Place  / Athlete's Name  /   40k Finishing Time  /  (Speed Average)

1.  Dan Jarecke 59:10  (25.3 mph average)
6.  Chuck Waterman  1:05:35  (22.8 mph average)
15. Paul Thomas 1:12:29  (20.7 mph average)
16. Alvah Aldrich 1:13:23 (20.4 mph average)

Getting ready to taper for Louisville...with Watts!

We had a great weekend at the Tour de Thompson 62 mile ride this past weekend.  The weather was perfect for an epic ride around some of the toughest hills in the Canandaigua area, and our group started off at 0800 for a planned 200watt ride.

I tried to settle into my pace early and find a rhythm, and got warmed up before we started the climb westward off of West Lake Road.  The pack had spread out nicely, and it was a ball trying to figure out what a good climbing power would be that would not blow up my legs if the ride were to be 112 miles long.

After several rest stops and chatting with weary participants, the final climb of the day provided a 4 mile shortcut that would eliminate the descent down Gannett Hill.  Not wanting to be short-changed on my entry fee, our pack rode every inch of the "long cut" and found it to be one of the toughest climbs of the day.  For those who have not participated in this ride yet, try to put it on your training calendar for next year.  Think of it as a "Highlander Recon Session"that supports a truly good cause!

It was also nice to reflect on the previous weekend that we spent in Lake Placid cheering on some of our Ironman buddies.  I was shocked by the violence in the swim start, and was inspired by the courage of the participants during the run.  Anyone who completes an Ironman is an elite athlete, but anyone who competes in Placid is truly special.  The course is not one to be trifled with!

Ironman Placid Bike Course Recon

This should be the last high volume week prior to starting my taper for Louisville.  My run volume is slightly lower than expected due to several consecutive cracks during my long runs (and the subsequent attempt to recover).  This week should be a fun one with several days of intense efforts that will serve as fitness markers for Ironman.

We will have a new addition to our Team this week!  The new official bike coach is named "Watts", and will hopefully be at most of the races and training sessions with us.  He is a 7 week old Black Lab that has a sweet little personality.

Many thanks to those who have offered advice and encouragement during this Ironman buildup training cycle. Despite a few injuries and crashes early in the season, it's been a great season, and I truly look forward to the last few weeks before The Big Day (as Mary Eggars would say)!

Watts!