The Tour is over (and yes, winners will be announced for the Fantasy League tomorrow), so we pause for a moment before the next races start.

Sometimes to me, if feels like I have been holding my breath for a while and then, when I finally exhale (which feels like I have been holding my breath for months at times), there is a notable pause-like-feeling to that day. Today is just such a day. There is a long exhale as projects are coming to an end, others are just beginning and training is at a phase of constant management (it’s winter, so sniffles, niggles and lack of training in sunlight are hard on the body and mind) and walking, as my Gringo likes to say, the razors edge.

Quite a year already and in 6 weeks time, I will be in Sweden racing one of the craziest races in the world. I will then attempt to race an Xterra 5 days later, on shattered legs. In the interim, there is so much to do that I just have to smile and have a chuckle. The pause today is much needed.

At New Media Labs, we develop software with this methodology. We work mega hard for 2 weeks and then we pause, restructure, and smash it all over again. The pause is an important part of our work environment and it’s a time to reflect and plan ahead. Without the pause, how do we ever adapt, learn and change our ways, how do we ever have a chance to admire the smell, sight and energy of the moment?

When the pause hit, grab it by the horns and make sure you get the zen out of it, make sure you recharge and ready yourself for the next burst.

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That is how you finish the biggest mountain in the Tour. Right?

I have been excited lately to do things right, and I mean really giving it everything. I am going into a block of time where not giving everything is just not going to cut it. Big races, big work projects and exciting prospects loom ahead in the next 12 weeks, so I am finding the following and hoped you could use one or two things to help you too.

1. I am having to think slowly. TheHousemate always says “less haste, more speed” and this rings super true for me, especially as I get busier. I have to take extra time to write emails, proposals, respond to questions, plan my day ahead (sometimes involves packing 2 sports bags and pre-making lunch and and and…). Taking the extra few seconds or minutes to do things slowly, think about the things slowly can often result in hours saved.

2. New sensations. The harder I train, the more fragile I get & the more regular sleep and simple food I need. I am more prone to stomach bugs, sinus infections, flat out fatigue and the one which hits me the hardest is my tolerance for alcohol. I generally have a very good tolerance. I find that after a certain volume of hours training, I just can’t do more than 2 glasses of wine. Overz kadoverz. The same goes with sugar and all stimulants. Where I would hardly feel a red bull, where I am now training wise, it knocks me for 6.

3. Peace. I am very chill at the moment. Things are on track and I keep hearing comments about looking peaceful. Planning and execution of that plan correctly is clearly good for the soul. Sleeping regularly and eating real food will make all the difference. People will see it.

4. Mood awareness. I am someone who does not do the combination of hungry and tired very well. I am very calm in general but combine the two and I might rip the arms off a small child if it asks that question again. Being busy often leaves me tired, often hungry and quite often, both. This is just how it is. I have to be very aware of my mood and how I react in the office or to email when you add in that it might be Monday and I have trained 12 hours over the weekend.

Hopefully something in there that you can use this week.

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Very recently I have come to some amazing conclusion. I realize I have been pushing planning quite a bit over the last 18 months, but there has been a shift in writing of late, more towards the “work” side of life. Life is rushing by faster and faster, and I have recently found that I could spend hours planning and getting so involved in the planning, that I may actually miss the entire day.

Recently I seemed to hit a nice niche with the HTFU & Get It Done vibe. I noticed very similar approaches being taken on Endurance Corner as well as Chuckie V talking about it. In Ironman, people are so obsessed with planning that it can ruin their entire lives.

You can have the best laid plan in the world, but if you can’t get more than 3/4 of it done consistently, you are wasting time planning, when you should be spending that time doing.

Get it done. I reiterate – your success will not be achieved through hyperplanning, but through getting the work done. You will never know how much is too much until you have actually been there, swimming in the mucus of too much, the place where you are stuck in molasses when everyone is moving in parrafin.

How can you plan properly without knowing those limits?

This applies to life, to sport, to love, to everything. I worked in an office a few years ago where we spent more time planning actual sales than we did out in the field. In my relationships I have been guilty of planning for everything to go perfect but in the end there is always change and I may have lost some amazing moments by being too planned.

A hyperplanner will take success as achieving their goals. Who wants to achieve what their minds have tricked them into believing is their “ceiling” of achievement.

I remember being in a warehouse after a long, long nights partying years ago. It was dark, who knew how long we had been in there, moving in a mass of house music, vodka/redbull and white boy dance moves. Someone launched a bottle through the roof and one single ray of sunlight came through and almost burnt a hole in the dancefloor. Nobody knew it was light outside.

It was like they/we believed the dark was our limit.

Huge doors screeched into action and the light came pouring in, the party turned from dark to light, the entire vibe changed into a far more positive one, and we blew the perceptions out the water that morning.

What is your warehouse?

Are you going to throw that first bottle to look at whats outside?

Whats your excuse?

Make it work, get it done. Life will pass you by if you don’t get it done.

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You are NOT a superhero.

In my life, I can do one thing well at a time, and hence, the time allocation part of my day is vital. Everything has its place and if that’s missing everything seems to be a mess, like 10 colors of clay mixed together. My definition of “well” is world-class, and this might not be your goal. Define what “well” means to you. My goal is to be world-class in what I do – marketing, branding, coach, athlete, boyfriend. I may not achieve this with every decision, but this is what my goal is and its what I’m continuously working towards. You will need to make choices if you want to perform relative to others. You are also going to have to make a habit out of doing things that your competition are unwilling to do. Lately I have been a bit lazy with the athletic side of these goals, but that’s all about to change again, as time has been allocated to once again be a world class athlete.
These habits need not be ‘evil’! Moderate exercise, eating well and getting enough sleep are probably the greatest areas for us to outperform in the long run (by not dying early). In the end, am I shooting for a short term performance or a long term wellness goal? Can’t I have a bit of both?

Obligation to think

Hiring a coach does not remove your obligation to think. I am always encouraging my athletes to think for themselves – to remember what certain heart rates “feel” like. To NOT push the first 30min on the bike. I think the majority of nutrition problems at Ironman level come from a lack of good thinking by the athletes.

I see this all the time – changing nutrition plans leading into the race, putting products you may be intolerant to in your race plan, pushing the first 30min on the bike and wondering why your stomach cant process food in hour 10 and onwards. Your decisions ultimately relate to your overall performance, and a coach cant be responsible for all your decisions.

We are all inherently programmed to know right from wrong. Its your obligation to tune into that frequency in all areas of your life.

Schedule your life.

”Your training must be consistent with your life situation and, taught to me by Molina, the time you have to train has no impact on human physiology.” – Gordo Byrn.

Your competition does not care about your schedule. We don’t get to set the rules of engagement. If you can build a program around your life situation, you are already 90% of the way to your potential. Don’t begrudge the guy who has to work 4 hours a day. He has made choices to get there. He surely doesn’t care that you are working 9 hours a day. Work with what you have and make that work for you.

Slower athletes might be smarter than you.

You are going to need a lot of help to achieve ambitious goals. Probably the #1 mistake athletes make (myself included) is ignoring the possibility that a “slow” person might have something to teach them. Triathlon embodies this form of intellectual arrogance — I was a poster boy for it! It was only once I stopped preaching and started listening that I improved beyond my own expectations. I learn as much from the athletes I coach as I do from the books I read. The 13-15 hour athletes carry lessons for us 9 hour guys if we can just let our egos go for a second.

Avoidance tactics.

Keep track of the choices that you make that result in self-sabotage. Here’s a few of mine:

• Sleeping past 6:30am
• Coffee after 3pm
• Getting loaded with undue stress.
• Overeating on starch/sugar
• Switching training sessions around
• Getting to bed after 10:30pm
• Shooters. I have been known to enjoy a Tequila or two, on occasion.

They are small individually but if any of the above becomes a habit then my productivity will plummet and I am a lot less likely to achieve my goals. It might be my personality, but I have an easier time nurturing my good habits than trying to prevent others which may not be so good for me.

That would fall under the “work at your strengths” banner, instead of the “combat your weaknesses” one. I personally find that when my good habits are in order and being reinforced, the bad ones seem to dissipate as there isn’t space for them to manifest into what essentially is a jam packed schedule for life.

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There is just something about a weekend like we just had in the fairest Cape, isn’t there? The weather was not too hot, but still beachable, the wind didn’t blow us into smithereens, and the evenings were cool enough to let your metabolism slow down enough to have a sleep that can only be described as “epic”.

Speaking of Epic, you should be tracking The Housemate via the big world of the internet on www.cape-epic.com as he tasks riding 900km in 7 days across more mountains than you`ve ever driven in your car. It’s a noble task, life changing, and he will come back a better man for it.

They are team Fairbairn Private Bank, and drop him a line on 082 419 1000 with the words “Roco & enjoy the vibe. Its far but its awesome” in there somewhere.

I had what can only be described as a swan song of a weekend with regards to training. I have had the last 2 weeks off. Not taking it easy, but totally OFF training. Not even a hint of mileage. The purpose of this is for my mind to take a break as well. No planning kitbags and sessions, no visualisation or thinking about training or racing. Quite lekka I say. (more…)

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