The Reset Button

Happy Hot Afternoon!

Well, my weekend is finally here.  I’m quietly excited.  I don’t want to let my body know that we’re going to the starting line just yet.  I’m so gun shy, you know?  I’ve had so many injuries I’ve missed about 10 races that I had penned onto my calendar for this year so far and I don’t want to miss this one.  I feel like I’m whispering and sneaking up to that start line, kind of like John Belushi in Animal House on the front steps of that building, haha!

I had a conversation with one of our campers the other day about this phenomenon.  She had a terrible injury and is cautious now.  She and I are both hovering around the 50 year old mark, so have been hammer-heads for a good while now.  (Hammer-head is my term for someone that just loves to go at physical activities with wild abandon, to pursue it seriously and somewhat blindly!)  We’ve both operated from the space that when you hold back, when you’re cautious, that’s when you get injured – so we never held back, we’ve just gone for it, head down, pushing hard, never quitting til we hit the finish line.  So now what do we do that we’ve been injured, don’t want to be injured again, that fear is making us cautious, we know being cautious is asking for injury, so we fear being injured again?

Sheesh!  Crazy isn’t it?  Some of you may know a little about my story, but this makes me think of what I went through mentally when I was recovering from my strokes.  I didn’t know what was causing them, didn’t know when “the big one” was coming – or if it was, and I was so afraid that I couldn’t sleep.  Well, not sleeping was a great recipe for having another one.  I had to learn to just live in each moment and embrace it and be thankful that I had that moment and the experiences of the moment.

I’ve got to reach for that place where I’m not cautious anymore.  I’ve got to get centered and find my confidence again.  Have to let go of fear, it is an invitation to weakness.

Have you ever fallen down?  And I mean that in more ways than just literally.  Fallen down in life, on a project, or maybe not been the best spouse or parent?  What about not being the best employer or employee?  You have to learn to trust yourself again to hold that role, right?  Set new standards for yourself to uphold and then uphold them.  Make promises to yourself first and then keep them, then you’ll know you can trust yourself with the concerns of others.

I’m ready to get back up.  I’m ready to embrace my moments in the now and step boldly, to trust my feet again.  I’m heading to the starting line this Sunday.  I know it’s going to translate over into the rest of my life the moment I get there.  I can’t wait.

Do you need to hit the “Reset” button on anything?  Physically, emotionally, mentally?  Do you have any commitments you need to rewrite or maybe take a Mulligan on?  You ready to start fresh and new again?

I have a couple of favorite sayings:  “It’s like Italian race car driving.  Snap off the rearview mirror.  What is behind me does not matter.”

And Chinese proverb:  “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”

Let’s get up and go.  Let’s approach the line like it’s the first time.  There’s no time like the present for a fresh start.  I’m going to line up and go for it like I’ve never fallen down, like there’s no bad memories, like I can’t fall down again.

I’ll let you know how it goes next week.  I’d love to hear from you about your own new fresh start.  Your stories invigorate me!  Please share.

Your Friend and New Again Racing Buddy,
Melanie

Link Love!

Here are some great website for reliable accurate nutrition information.  

•American Dietetics Association

•http://www.eatright.org/Media/content.aspx?id=6442452237

•Food Insight

•http://www.foodinsight.org/nutrition-information.aspx

•Food & Sport

•http://www.foodandsport.com/foodandsport.com/Welcome.html

•Vegetarian Resource Group

•http://www.vrg.org/

Lentil Mania

By Jacqueline Dunnington

Humans have been dining on lentils for centuries. These lens- shaped edible seeds, scientifically classified as the Lens esculenta or Lens culinaris, have been discovered in Bronze Age dwellings on St. Peter's Island in Switzerland. The Bible (Genesis 25:34) records that Esau sold his birthright for a "pottage of lentils". Orange lentils are found in India, Africa, and the Middle East. Botanists are still hunting for clues about the origin of the plant. Meanwhile, vegetarians delight in the flavor and nutritional benefits of its seeds.

LENTIL SALAD
(Serves 5)
A classic salad for all seasons.

1 cup pre-cooked green lentils
1 cup pre-cooked orange lentils
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup steamed green beans, finely cut
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
Dressing:
1 Tablespoon mild, prepared mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of lemon juice
1/2 cup reduced fat
Italian dressing
1 ripe tomato, cut into wedges
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
Small head of lettuce, shredded
In a salad bowl, mix cooked lentils, celery, green beans, and parsley. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Toss lentil mixture with dressing and serve on shredded lettuce. Garnish with tomato wedges and chives.
Serve with crusty whole wheat bread.


Total Calories Per Serving: 149
Fat: 3 grams

Getting back in the mental game after an injury.

Hey Gang,

So are you sweating your cookies off?  Goodness it has been a hot one so far hasn’t it?  I know I mentioned to you before about the wicked serious of injuries I have been dealing with that have kept me from racing so far this year.  I’ve been working hard fighting my way back from them and wanted to chat with you about it.

I’m fighting in my head and thought, I can’t be the only one going through this and I just don’t want to go through it alone!  So here we go, here’s my fight.

It hurts, doesn’t it? When you haven’t worked out in a while, you lose your place.  You lose that fitness.  I remember fully well how terrific I felt before I was sidelined and I go to run or bike or swim and my body doesn’t give me what I’m expecting in my head to have happen and it’s frustrating.

I go to push my pace or devour a hill and it hurts today to do what I did easily a few months ago.  Ugh.  Then it is making me dread working out, but how crazy is that?  If I don’t work out, I’ll never get that fitness back.  So I go and put my head down, shut that voice up that is disappointed, and keep slugging it out.

That voice.  That voice that says to me, are you kidding me?  This is all you can do right now?  Oh man, how long is it going to take to recover the ground lost?  Then I’m angry that I have to do all of that work AGAIN?  Have you ever been in this place?

I’m living on Advil.  I call them adult tic tacs these days.  I go to get up from sitting down and feel like I have to peel myself up out of the chair and slowly unfold my aching muscles.  A nice hot shower is a bit too much on the heavenly scale these days.  It really shouldn’t be that compelling.  I pray for time in my day to get a massage but haven’t been able to carve out time for it just yet.  Ugh.

Am I alone?  Please tell me that you’re fighting your way back too, or maybe you’re a few steps ahead of me and can assure me I’ll be strong and fast again soon!  Gosh, I need to hear that today.

If you’re a few steps behind me, I’m here to be that voice for you!  I remember where I was 2 years ago when I had so much more stored energy than I do today.  (stored energy = fat stores!)  I remember how dreadfully slow and painful it was for me then.  I got through it and to a much higher plane by just keeping myself moving.

I didn’t care about time, speed or any of the things I compete with myself against today.

Maybe I just need to reset my brain?  Just allow myself room to recover and allow there to be joy that I’m back in the game, or at least on the edge of the game again.  To stop competing with my bike computer, my lap times or average mile pace.

I tell people almost every day of my life to be grateful for a body that can and will.  To be grateful for a body that says yes and lets you go out and play today.  Why am I having so much trouble listening to myself?  It’s almost comical.  Is really embarrassing if I let myself own this truth.

Hmm.  I am still fighting letting go of the knot of anxiety that is twisting in my chest.  I LIKE that I have such expectations of myself.  I am being so transparent with you right now.  I am realizing how much I don’t like being weak.  I’ve always known that I love being strong and fit, but I never stepped into how much I dislike feeling weak and un-able.

Ok, thanks for letting me think through this with you.  In recovering from an injury or illness, or just LIFE that has taken you away from being fit, you must just accept where you are.  Be grateful that you are able bodied and can go move and change and DO something about it.  Don’t let yourself think about it while you’re going through it.  Just do it.  Take over the counter meds, hot showers and massages where you can to survive this phase.  Know this phase will blossom into that place of speed and strength and fitness that feels powerful and fun.  Bring others with you on the journey – it’s so much more meaningful when you do!

I’ll be out there on the road slugging it out this week.  Look for me.  I’ll be looking for you and maybe we can encourage each other.

Until then,

Fighting for the Fit Life
Melanie

Do Carbohydrates Cause Weight Gain?

No. Calories cause weight gain. Excess calories from carbohydrates are not any more fattening than calories from other sources. Despite the claims of low-carb diets, a high-carbohydrate diet does not promote fat storage by enhancing insulin resistance. In fact, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that consuming a low-carbohydrate diet was associated with an increased likelihood of being overweight or obese. The lowest risk was found in those who consumed about half of their calories from carbohydrates.

Seviche –Style Shrimp & Avocado Tacos

Look for cooked, peeled shrimp at the seafood counter; or quickly thaw frozen cooked, peeled shrimp in a colander under cold running water. Marinate shrimp in a nonreactive bowl, such as one that is glass or ceramic; an aluminum or copper bowl will react with the citrus juice to give the shrimp a metallic taste.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)

Ingredients

• 3  limes
• 1  cup  chopped seeded tomato
• 1  cup  diced peeled avocado (about 1 avocado)
• 1/2  cup  chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  pound  cooked peeled medium shrimp
• 12  (6-inch) corn or wheat tortillas

Preparation

Finely grate rind from limes to measure 1 tablespoon; juice limes to measure 1/4 cup. Place rind and juice in a large bowl. Add tomato and remaining ingredients except tortillas; toss well to combine. Cover and chill for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Heat tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/2 cup shrimp mixture down center of each tortilla; fold in half. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories:  261 (27% from fat)

Fat:  7.8g (sat 1.3g,mono 3.8g,poly 1.8g)

Protein:  19.5g

Carbohydrate:  30.3g

Fiber:   5g

Cholesterol:  115mg

Iron:  3.1mg

Sodium:  498mg

Calcium:  114mg

Lorrie Corvin, Cooking Light, JULY 2005

Phys Ed: Your Brain on Exercise

From the New York Times online.  (Jim Wehtje/Getty Images)

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

 

What goes on inside your brain when you exercise? That question has preoccupied a growing number of scientists in recent years, as well as many of us who exercise. In the late 1990s, Dr. Fred Gage and his colleagues at the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute in San Diego elegantly proved that human and animal brains produce new brain cells (a process called neurogenesis) and that exercise increases neurogenesis. The brains of mice and rats that were allowed to run on wheels pulsed with vigorous, newly born neurons, and those animals then breezed through mazes and other tests of rodent I.Q., showing that neurogenesis improves thinking.

But how, exactly, exercise affects the staggeringly intricate workings of the brain at a cellular level     has remained largely mysterious. A number of new studies, though, including work published this month by Mr. Gage and his colleagues, have begun to tease out the specific mechanisms and, in the process, raised new questions about just how exercise remolds the brain.

Some of the most reverberant recent studies were performed at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. There, scientists have been manipulating the levels of bone-morphogenetic protein or BMP in the brains of laboratory mice. BMP, which is found in tissues throughout the body, affects cellular development in various ways, some of them deleterious. In the brain, BMP has been found to contribute to the control of stem cell divisions. Your brain, you will be pleased to learn, is packed with adult stem cells, which, given the right impetus, divide and differentiate into either additional stem cells or baby neurons. As we age, these stem cells tend to become less responsive. They don’t divide as readily and can slump into a kind of cellular sleep. It’s BMP that acts as the soporific, says Dr. Jack Kessler, the chairman of neurology at Northwestern and senior author of many of the recent studies. The more active BMP and its various signals are in your brain, the more inactive your stem cells become and the less neurogenesis you undergo. Your brain grows slower, less nimble, older.
But exercise countermands some of the numbing effects of BMP, Dr. Kessler says. In work at his lab, mice given access to running wheels had about 50 percent less BMP-related brain activity within a week. They also showed a notable increase in Noggin, a beautifully named brain protein that acts as a BMP antagonist. The more Noggin in your brain, the less BMP activity exists and the more stem cell divisions and neurogenesis you experience. Mice at Northwestern whose brains were infused directly with large doses of Noggin became, Dr. Kessler says, “little mouse geniuses, if there is such a thing.” They aced the mazes and other tests.
Whether exercise directly reduces BMP activity or increases production of Noggin isn’t yet known and may not matter. The results speak for themselves. “If ever exercise enthusiasts wanted a rationale for what they’re doing, this should be it,” Dr. Kessler says. Exercise, he says, through a complex interplay with Noggin and BMP, helps to ensure that neuronal stem cells stay lively and new brain cells are born.
But there are caveats and questions remaining, as the newest experiment from Dr. Gage’s lab makes clear. In that study, published in the most recent issue of Cell Stem Cell, BMP signaling was found to be playing a surprising, protective role for the brain’s stem cells. For the experiment, stem cells from mouse brains were transferred to petri dishes and infused with large doses of Noggin, hindering BMP activity. Without BMP signals to inhibit them, the stem cells began dividing rapidly, producing hordes of new neurons. But over time, they seemed unable to stop, dividing and dividing again until they effectively wore themselves out. The same reaction occurred within the brains of living (unexercised) mice given large doses of Noggin. Neurogenesis ramped way up, then, after several weeks, sputtered and slowed.  The “pool of active stem cells was depleted,” a news release accompanying the study reported. An overabundance of Noggin seemed to cause stem cells to wear themselves out, threatening their ability to make additional neurons in the future.
This finding raises the obvious and disturbing question: can you overdose on Noggin by, for instance, running for hours, amping up your production of the protein throughout? The answer, Dr. Gage says, is, almost certainly, no. “Many people have been looking into” that issue, he says. But so far, “there has not been any instance of a negative effect from voluntary running” on the brain health of mice. Instead, he says, it seems that the effects of exercise are constrained and soon plateau, causing enough change in the activity of Noggin and BMP to shake slumbering adult stem cells awake, but not enough to goose them into exhausting themselves.
Still, if there’s not yet any discernible ceiling on brain-healthy exercise, there is a floor. You have to do something. Walk, jog, swim, pedal — the exact amount or intensity of the exercise required has not been determined, although it appears that the minimum is blessedly low. In mice, Mr. Gage says, “even a fairly short period” of exercise “and a short distance seems to produce results.”

Why Not Me?

I read a story about Lance Armstrong a while ago when he was recovering from cancer that he had gone for a ride with some friends up in the Smoky Mountains on a rainy day.  He wasn’t having the best of days, dejected and ready to ride away from competing.  It was a do or die kind of day for him.

They were at the end of the ride when his friend beckoned him up a hill.  (Man I love a hill!)  He decided to follow and on that rainy uphill climb recommitted himself to chasing his dreams.

I read that story and wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t taken that turn.  What if he hadn’t decided to press on when he was at the bottom – literally and figuratively?

We discover what is inside when we get squeezed.

What’s really inside of you?

What comes out when you get squeezed?  Do you take the turn uphill or do you tuck tail and head back to the house?

I am very much a glass half full kind of girl.  It is my mission to find the seeds of greatness I believe are firmly planted in each of you.  When you get squeezed, when you’re at the bottom of a hill, I challenge you to stay centered, find your rhythm and wind your way uphill.

I found myself contemplating my dreams for my life while on a bike ride yesterday.  I found myself shooting myself down, realizing I wasn’t allowing myself to see Me winning, accomplishing, succeeding at my hearts desire.  I realized that I didn’t believe it could be Me accomplishing those lofty goals and then I thought of Lance and his dreary, dejected day and realized on that day, he asked the question – why not?  Why not me?

I say make the world tell us no!  Make the world tell us it’s not possible.  What I mean by that is don’t choose the answer.  Don’t decide that it’s not possible.  We have a saying in boot camp – there’s no “I can’t” in camp, it’s always “I’ll try”.  When you don’t try, you are deciding the answer, aren’t you?  If you don’t try, you are choosing for the answer to be No!  I say try!  Find out what is possible when you dare to dream, when you dare to wonder, when you dare to throw your head down and haul it full force toward your dreams.

Find out what the answer is.  Dare to find out what it feels like when the answer turns out to be, yes, it can be you – it is you!  It’s your time, it’s your turn, it’s you.

Fiercely,

Melly Mel

Supplements - to take or not to take

Time and time again people asking me what supplements that should be taking and if they really work.  Well,  here is my hopefully brief answer.  Most supplements have not been tested to the extent they should be (ie. clinical trials) and there is no regulation of the substances and the manufacturers can make any claim as long it does not claim to prevent, cure or treat a disease.  So my first question is do you really want to put something in your body that you have no idea what it is going to do to you? 

The other issue we face with supplements is that we over sensitize our bodies to nutrients.  When you become isulin resistant your cells become resistant to insulin and thus cause an elevated blood glucose that eventually causes greater fat storage.  The chronic intake of sugar causes insulin senstivity.  So I ask you if our bodies' cells can become resistant to insulin could they not also become resistant to over doses of vitamins and minerals? 

So you decide, the choice is yours!

Tuna-Garbanzo Salad

This salad is easy, delicious and it packs a punch of Vitamin D, Omegas, fiber and lean protein.  Watch your portion though and do not over do it!

Inspired by Spanish tapas, this salad spotlights premium tuna. Bonito del Norte or albacore packed in oil are good choices for this recipe.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 2 cups salad and 2 toasts)

Ingredients

• 2  quarts water
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 2  cups  (1-inch) cut green beans (about 1/2 pound)
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped shallots (about 2 medium)
• 2  fire-roasted piquillo peppers, chopped
• 1  (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 3  tablespoons  light mayonnaise
• 2  tablespoons  sherry vinegar
• 1  teaspoon  Spanish smoked paprika
• 4  cups  arugula
• 1  (7.8-ounce) jar premium tuna, packed in oil, drained and flaked
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 8  (1-ounce) slices French bread

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
Bring 2 quarts water and salt to a boil. Add green beans; cook 4 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Combine green beans, shallots, peppers, chickpeas, and garlic in a large bowl.
Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, and paprika in a small bowl, stirring well. Add mayonnaise mixture to bean mixture; toss gently to combine. Arrange 1 cup arugula on each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 1 cup bean mixture. Divide tuna evenly among plates.
Sprinkle cheese evenly over bread slices; place bread on a baking sheet. Broil 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Serve toasts with salad.

Nutritional Information

Calories:  391 (26% from fat)

Fat:  11.5g (sat 2.2g,mono 2.8g,poly 3.6g)

Protein:  23.7g

Carbohydrate:  46.5g

Fiber:  6.2g

Cholesterol:  23mg

Iron: 3.5mg

Sodium:  1052mg

Calcium:  198mg

Julianna Grimes Bottcher, Cooking Light, MARCH 2007

Electrolyte drinks, timing is KEY.

So most of us drink or replace fluids post workout.  In my sports nutrition classes we talk about how most people mis-time fluid replacement and how that does not really do use much good.  the recommendation is that the timing of electrolyte beverages should be a small amount prior to the workout and then at intervals during the workout.  Most of us complete a workout and then chug a sports drink as fast as we can.  The purpose of sports drinks is to keep blood volume steady, supply glucose to the brain and working muscles and keep us from getting mentally fatigued.  It is rather inconveinent to drink during a workout and there are some workouts that just do not allow us to stop so I tried my own little experiement.  During a spinning class, I had a bottle of gatorade and since you are sitting on a bike and are able to drink, I thought I would give it a whirl.  The other key to remember is that you need to sip the beverage not drink it in one straight shot.  So I had a mouthful every 10-15 minutes during the class.  My energy  level was better sustained and I did not feel as fatigued or thirsty at the end of the class. 

The moral of the story:  Drink your sports beverages slowly over time and make sure if you are doing endurance work that you take some sort of sports beverage along.   If you can get glucose to the brain and electrolytes to the blood then you can stay in the game longer!

Turkey Burgers with Cranberry Peach Chutney

Enjoy the flavors of Thanksgiving all year long in this dressed-up turkey burger. Purchase ground turkey breast versus ground turkey—the white meat is much lower in calories and fat. Try grilling the burgers for an added boost of flavor. Serve with vegetable chips and red grapes.
Prep: 5 minutes; Cook: 6 minutes

Prep Time: 9 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 burger)

Ingredients

• 1  pound  ground turkey breast
• 1  large egg white
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 4  lettuce leaves
• 4  (1 1/2-ounce) whole wheat hamburger buns
• Cranberry-Peach Chutney

Preparation

1. Combine turkey and next 3 ingredients. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until a thermometer registers 165°.
3. Place 1 lettuce leaf on bottom half of each bun; top each with 1 burger. Spread 2 tablespoons Cranberry-Peach Chutney on inside of each bun top; place each on top of 1 burger.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 342 (27% from fat)

Fat: 10g (sat 2.9g,mono 0.5g,poly 1g)

Protein: 28.2g

Carbohydrate: 35.8g

Fiber: 3.6g

Cholesterol: 71mg

Iron: 2.8mg

Sodium: 447mg

Calcium: 92mg

Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast, Oxmoor House, APRIL 2009

Get in the race. Get mobilized. Be in the moment in your own life.

Hey Gang,

How is your summer so far?  I’ve been kicked out of the game, sidelined with  a series of injuries that have prevented me from being able to compete, to get into any racing at all and it’s been driving me nuts!  I’m still at the tail end of my last big owie, but finally able to get my training going again and have set some race dates on the calendar.

How about you?  Have you been able to get out there yet?  Man there are some great races going on. When is the last time you got to the starting line?  How ever long it’s been, if it was last weekend or never.  I’m here to tell you, it is time!  Jump online, go to active.come or gamultisports.com  and type in whatever it is that interests you , pick a race, sign up and let’s go, ok? 

It matters that you get to the starting line.  It matters that you get to the finish line. 

I have 3 simple rules for racing. 

1.       You have to show up.  By just showing up, you are living a life rather than sitting there, being a remote control jockey and watching others live one.

2.       You can’t quit!  Once you get to the start line, you must finish.  I don’t care how long it takes you.  I just don’t care.  Finish it.  Don’t get into your head with any negative self talk, comparing your performance to last time, or the person next to you, or your sibling or whatever.  Just be in the race.  Be where you are.  Be right there and keep throwin the cranks over, keep putting one foot in front of the other, one more stroke or stride and reel that finish line in.  It feels awesome to cross the finish line.  Oh, and maybe that day will be the day you set your new personal record – something definitely worth experiencing!
3.       Lastly, have fun.  Enjoy it.  Enjoy the whole darn experience.  From getting up early, coordinating logistics to get there, waiting in line at the bathroom with all the other competitors before the race starts. I love it all.  The race packet pick up, the vendors and all the cool stuff, the sights, sounds and smells of it all.  Most folks buzz through life either living in the past or the future, race day puts you right smack in the middle of the moment.   Be in the moment.  Breathe it in.  Stand there and just be.

Now here’s what happens for me when I pick a race.   Well, I’m a bit wacked in that picking one race for me usually leads to picking a whole series of races because it just fires me up!  Anyway, picking a race sets all my gears in motion. 

What I do next is grab my calendar and circle that date and then back into my training prep for it.  I know there are a ton of books and philosophies out there about race training, peaking properlyyou’re your event, etc  and I highly recommend you reading as much as you possibly can.  What I’ve found over the years is that we’re all snowflakes and what works amazingly well for one person may not be the magic ticket for the next person, so when I share what works for me, please keep that in mind.  It may be great for me, but you may need to modify for yourself.

Here’s what I know about me.  Let’s say my event is on Saturday, the last day I can go long and hard will be Tuesday of race week.  I’ll hit it hard that Tuesday, middle of the road workout on Wednesday, light Thursday and nothing or at least nothing over 120 beats per minute on my heart rate monitor Friday.

I’ll do a “test” of my event the Saturday before.  So, if I’m doing a triathlon I’ll do the same distances or longer on the Saturday before. 

I’ll take my calendar and block out my long days, my brick days (where I do 2 of the 3 disciplines in triathlon) and my light days.   I decide how many days I need to ride my bike, run and swim to feel more than prepared to handle the event and I’ll line out my weeks schedules and line it up with what my other life obligations are and tweak things to make it all fit.

My calendar will be set up, my competitive juices will be pumped and that inner drive will be rolling.

Basically, I will become mobilized.

There’s a tremendous difference between being motivated and being mobilized.  I’ll leave you with my thoughts on the distinction. 

You go to a pep rally and get motivated.  You ever been to a pep rally, or to see a motivational speaker? You are all fired up for a little while and then the fanfare dies down and you settle back into your old practices.

When I sign up for a race, I become mobilized.  I now have a deep rich story about why I am working out, what my workouts are going to be, what the expectation is as far as what my workouts will produce.  I set in my head my story about how I want that race/event to go and I am now fired up and in motion that doesn’t die down easily.  The story lives within me, not on the outside of me and it produces action, and results and transformation.

Get in the race.  Get mobilized.  Be in the moment in your own life.

I can’t wait to see you out there!

Melly Mel

Before and After: Stephen