Open to the Universe

I’ve had three moments over the last 24 hours that have demonstrated the importance of being open to what the universe is sharing with you:

— A razor blade pierced my Jeep tire on the freeway and I almost clogged up the 405/5 freeway interchange this past Tuesday morning. This would have been bad bad news for LA commuters. I wound up at a tire shop near work and while I sat in the waiting room, a neon sign across the street beckoned to me: “Autobooks-Aerobooks.” A book shop dedicated to automotive and aviation stories. I could have been upset about the flat tire, or realize that maybe I was supposed to get the flat tire so I could walk to that bookstore and tell the owner about my dad’s new book, “Misfire.” Now, my dad and I have a new friend and a possible book signing in the coming weeks.

— This past summer, I took Audra to the beach. Just the two of us. With a huge pop tent that ultimately wouldn’t behave. A nice gentleman offered to help me pack up as he saw I was clearly losing the battle between childcare and beach-going. Turns out his son is a budding game developer, and might have a shot at an internship with my studio. The gentleman and I have become friends, and enjoyed a nice breakfast this morning. I could have been frustrated and embarrassed at the beach and not accepted help. Instead, I swallowed my pride, returned a kind gesture, and some unexpected things have happened for son, dad, and me.

— Today, I met a prospective Good Wolf athlete for lunch following a game studio meeting. Instead of focusing on triathlon, we got to know each other better. Within minutes, we realized our fathers were both patients at City of Hope, the prominent cancer treatment center. Regardless of whether we wind up partnering for the 2020 season, we established a far more meaningful connection. Our respective fathers are now in touch with each other to support the other. The universe wanted us to meet so our dads could connect, plain and simple.

There is no real triathlon lesson here. This is pure life.

If something negative happens in your world, try not to get too down about it. Maybe it’s all part of a bigger plan. Even if you can’t see what that is just yet.

Find Your Center

Today before the sun rose, Tower 26 swimmers pushed each other around on the pool deck. I’m not kidding, we really did just that.

Coach Gerry was trying to teach people about tautness, and how we need to be firm in our posture in the pool and not wriggle or wiggle around like a wet noodle. Posture and alignment affect EVERYTHING when it comes to swimming. Otherwise, as Gerry likes to say, “stuff happens.”

My partner in the exercise would tense up and become a little disturbed if I poked and pushed him from an unexpected direction.

It occurred to me that he may not know where his physical center is in his body.

Put another way, does he know from where he can draw his strength? Or how?

I’m lucky to have studied martial arts for years, and that experience helps make posture and alignment drills such as this one rather easy and enjoyable.

I know where my center is. Physically, mentally and spiritually.

I can be pushed, but I don’t have to move. I can root my feet into the ground, and pretend I’m a tree. Or, I can contract my deep core, close my eyes, and relax while remaining firm.

I wonder how many people this morning, cold and shivering on the pool deck before 6:15 a.m. knew where their respective centers were in that moment.

And if they did know, were they translating that insight to their posture?

How easy it is to lose our center when we have so many distractions around us — especially visceral ones such as the cold, wetness, darkness and the discomfort with someone touching your body.

But if you can retain your center in those moments, suddenly…the distractions cease.

The pool itself stops becoming cold. The faster swimmers around you melt away. The person pushing you isn’t even touching you.

Tautness with presence can equal total alignment, whether you’re in the water, at your workplace, or at home.

Pre-Mortem Race Planning

I asked a couple Good Wolf athletes tonight to embark upon a trust exercise with me.

They’re both Ironman veterans and have been racing a long time. Both are older than me too.

At this point in their triathlon careers, neither need me to tell them what their swim pace, bike watts and run pace should be for their races. Neither need me to tell them what to pack for their trips, what and when to eat or drink, or any number of important details that go into Ironman racing.

This occurred to me as I started to write their race plans. So it was time to pivot.

Instead, I’ve asked them to write pre-mortem race plans themselves. You’re familiar with post-mortem analysis, especially if you’ve worked in the business sector. This is biz speak for dissecting what went wrong AFTER the fact.

What would have happened if we dissected all the possible scenarios that could have led to that failure in the first place? What if we had a plan for dealing for each of those failure conditions…in advance?

How would this translate to a proper race plan? I’ve asked each athlete to get super dark and realistic with the reasons they might fail in their upcoming 140.6-mile races. Whether it’s lack of nutrition, bike mechanicals, or plain just giving up after hitting a wall…every reason is a valid reason. And it requires a course of action to overcome that obstacle when the Bad Wolf surfaces come race day.

I like this approach because it encourages the athlete to own their planning a bit more. It’s not “my” plan that I’m delivering to them. No, it’s their plan with their analysis and fears out in the open. Ready to tackle with the lights on.

My theory is that planning in this manner, especially with veteran athletes, is more helpful and meaningful. It might be a good exercise for newer triathletes too, but it would be in addition to a more tactical plan based on the lack of race experience.

The next time you’re faced with needing a race plan, maybe consider this approach for yourself. Let me know how it goes!

Training the Smaller Muscles

I started pilates sessions today at a wellness clinic called “Back to Wellness.” It’s a charming and effective studio nestled in Valley Village.

Most of the work in the pilates session fixated on the smaller muscle groups. For example, the piriformis, oblique abdominals, psoas and gluteus medius. The underlying but vital smaller muscles that, when firing correctly, can boost overall performance as larger muscle groups don’t have to over-compensate to produce power and speed.

The smaller muscles may not garner the spotlight in the body or in the gym, but without those muscles’ support…your body can’t work to its optimum level.

Hmm. Sounds like the workplace.

In my line of work, sometimes the proverbial “smaller muscles” can be what people sometimes call “soft skills.” Those are typically behavior skills or traits that allow you to not just perform your job function well, but to elevate your entire team and organization. Empathy, humor, class, grace, sensitivity, active listening…these are all small examples of soft skills.

As you can see, that list (and much more) is comprised of traits we’d want any true leader to exhibit. Not just someone who is competent in their job.

Just like we should focus on the smaller muscle groups…we should also focus on the soft skills that unlock our true potential as colleagues and workplace leaders.

Only with soft skills, we can and should train those smaller muscles every day.

Especially on the days when we don’t feel like it.

It All Adds Up

The 30 minute run that’s the best you can do that day? It adds up. Stack four together and a near two-hour run on the weekend and you’ve got nearly four hours in the fitness bank plus a sneaky-helpful 26 miles.

Or the 45 minute Peloton ride snuck in before sunrise so you can be in the family room when your little girl walks in upon waking up? It adds up. Drop in three or four and you’ve ridden almost 80 miles.

All the workouts…they add up.

This is critical for the time-crunched athlete like me. Somehow, despite feeling like I hardly trained at all last week, I snuck in about 11.5 hours of quality training. No fluff. Every session had a purpose based on the time I had available. Those hours were comprised with stolen time, borrowed time, EARNED time from early in the morning through late in the work day before commuting home.

When you’re driven, finding the workout time is easy.

When you’re not, finding the reason why those 30 minutes can be spent elsewhere…well, that’s easy too.

Expect the Unexpected

Today was as unexpected in how it developed as yesterday’s shenanigans.

Lately, I’ve been trying to “win the sunrise” to get my training in before Audra or Ayla awake. And today it just didn’t happen. The sunrise came and went. My eyes cracked open with Audra’s (not-so) gentle pat-pats to wake me up a little before 7.

With that, I figured my athlete schedule-building wouldn’t happen until later in the evening, when everyone was asleep. And training was going to be just a regret.

Then, the heavens opened, and I was able to get some productivity in while Audra “worked” alongside me watching some Daniel Tiger videos. All schedules were complete by 11 with some family breakfast time included, when Steph decided to take the girls to the car wash and lunch.

Wait, so I can still get a workout in?

I jumped on the bike and got a quality 45 minutes in.

Nobody was home yet.

Welp…I guess I’m gonna run too??

Five miles later, I got home within minutes of the rest of the fam.

The rest of the afternoon, I was Family Guy. Errands. Party chaperone. Dinner provider.

Now, as Audra showers with momma…blogger.

Today was a win. And it was every bit as unexpected as it was joyous.

I think the unexpected should be my new expectation. Topsy-turvy is terrific. Just hold on and embrace the moment, knowing that whatever is frustrating now will ease up later, and whatever looks certain tomorrow may change completely in five minutes.

For a guy who plans out his day in 15-30 minute increments, this is not an easy realization to make let alone keep.

Translating that balance between planning and reality is critical in life, and essential on the race course.

I wonder how many athletes make that connection?

Purposeful Downtime

Today I had grand plans to complete all my athletes’ training schedules for next week, but that went out the window.

Audra, with some encouragement from momma, told me it was a “beautiful day for the beach, daddy!”

So much for productivity :)

Of course, it was the right place to be. The best place to be. The only place I’d want to be on a day like today.

It was a beautiful day at the beach! We laughed, splashed and I got to watch firsthand as Audra became more water-confident right before my eyes. She even dunked her face in the ocean water…unprompted!

These days happen in training sometimes too. Sometimes literally. Whether it’s suddenly feeling ill, or someone texts to tell us they’re in town for one day only, we’ve all received signs that today might be a day to cut a workout short or to abandon it altogether.

How do you decide what to do?

Just as I can still write schedules tomorrow with little consequence, an athlete can cut a workout short or skip it if life sends them a sign it’s for the best to do so.

Here’s a quick checklist that helps me decide when those situations arise if I should train through the moment:

• Am I feeling ill or am I experiencing what might be a new or lingering injury?

• Will I regret missing this workout or skimping on it?

• Can I swap my schedule without compromising the coach’s plan?

• Is this workout essential during a pre-race build phase?

• How far into the workout am I (if I’ve started)?

Once I’ve assessed these questions in my head, I ask myself if I just need a break. That’s because most of the time I really WANT to train. So if I don’t or am distracted, there might be a good reason.

Sometimes, purposeful downtime can be the best medicine for our minds and our bodies.

Just make sure you’re able to listen to what the universe (and your inner Good Wolf) is telling you.

Special Day

Today, Good Wolf Coaching had the honor to be revealed as the first North American sponsorship partner for aero cycling wheel company SwissSide.

You can see the announcement here.

When I started dreaming that becoming a coach could be more than a dream, I didn’t envision a moment like this. Certainly not so soon.

The stranger part of that dream, looking back right now, is that I didn’t expect my passion could become a business. And so I didn’t mentally plan accordingly. I simply focused on becoming a good coach. A better coach tomorrow than I was today.

I guess that’s the upside and the downside of being immersed in the present.

The consequence though now is that 'I’ve had to change my mindset about how I think about my coaching practice.

The present is a little more secure (for now)…but not if I don’t plan more solidly for the future.

I think this happens in tri training and racing as an athlete.

You start off and get a few sprint and Olympic-distance races under your belt. You build confidence, and you start to wonder how things would go if you really got serious about the sport. Then, suddenly, your little hobby becomes something more. From that moment onwards, a new lifestyle (a more polite word for obsession) is born.

That’s how today feels for me, but as a coach.

If SwissSide believes in Good Wolf…who else might too?

What does tomorrow look like? I don’t know…but I think it could be special.

Bespoke Coaching

This is a tale of two different athletes completing the same workout, each receiving different directions for how to execute the same session.

Each performed to their finest ability, one even admitting unprovoked that if the workout had been written differently for him, he’s not sure he could have completed it.

The session is called a Yassos interval, named for running coach Bart Yasso. His premise is that a track-based 10x800 meters workout with equal rest proportional to the duration of each completed 800 is a largely reliable predictor of a marathon time.

To be clear, it’s not a causal relationship. And, there is no scientific data that proves out this hypothesis. But, it has been uncannily accurate as a predictor in my own races, and that of other running coaches I know.

Depending on the athlete (it’s not a uniform approach I take), I like to sprinkle Yassos interval sessions in every other week for a few weeks in a late-stage build towards an Ironman.

I know from experience both as an athlete and a coach that different athletes respond differently to the challenge of a tough workout like this. For one athlete, I knew he wanted a carrot to bring out the best in himself. So I told him I wanted to see if he had it in him to run 10x 800 in 3:10 for each interval.

He went faster just to show me I should have challenged him even more!

I took a different approach for another athlete. He nursed a calf injury for much of the season, which at times understandably hurt his morale. We’ve had a great build for the last few months though, and his confidence is coming around. The instructions for his Yassos intervals were to simply run comfortably hard for each interval. At a pace he could sustain.

In his performance chart, each 800 meter interval got faster by a few seconds. You could almost feel the confidence build after each interval. His calf was holding up, and by the end, it’s clear he wasn’t even thinking about it. His fastest 800 was his last 800, and his overall run session was probably the best best he’s experienced all season. Very cool to see!

This is why I love coaching so much. Each athlete needs a specific approach that speaks to them, and where they are in their training and life. At least that’s my own opinion and it heavily influences how I coach.

My approach is not scalable. It’s not clean or easily summed up like a Yassos Interval. But I’m not trying to be that either.

One athlete, one approach. One by one.

Over time, it will add up.

Re-Calibrate

I needed to bring home a project we’re working on at the game studio to play it in a new physical environment. It’s a VR-like experience, so where you play makes a difference.

They key reason in this instance is that the device needs to read the room to calibrate correctly, which would lead to the best player experience.

That’s not unlike how we as athletes have to read terrain, altitude changes, weather, our health, wellness, stress and hydration levels, among a host of other inputs when we train in a new environment.

But how successful are we at taking the data that’s coming back to us and applying it towards a productive training session or race?

You can and should re-calibrate your equipment, or your sensory inputs whenever you start a new day, or train in a new environment. Or re-assess your race plan to account for that data depending on the race environment.

But if you don’t or won’t apply what you’re seeing for a better experience, why re-calibrate in the first place?