Measuring and Maintaining Highs & Lows

There’s lots of talk about time: in the long haul or in the short-term. Investment consultants and gurus are confusing us with terminology and jargon that sound more impressive than expressive. In a time of great confusion and uncertainty, clarity and simplicity are key considerations when leading and influencing minds and hearts.

Last year's Mount Faber Run result.

In most of what we do, risk is involved. There are implications and consequences for each decision we make in a relationship. How do you assess risks? How do you maintain your sense of professionalism in your business? How do ‘reset’ when you get ‘upset’? How do you ‘time out’ when you experience ‘down time’? Who do you trust during ‘down-turns’ of the economy? That is why regular measurements and calibrations are relevant. Yesterday's 10K race showed an improvement of two minutes, which was deeply satisfying despite missing a podium placing by two spots. So, relative scores via ranking, personal timing, and annual positions are measures of progress or diminishing performance. 

Same race, one year later: An improvement of two minutes.

In running, when we get winded we need to slow down. That is why ‘keeping to your pace’ is so important in training and racing. Once physical fatigue sets in, we will want to ward it off for as long as we can so as to complete the race. Measuring and using recent data can be vital to our peak performance. We consume nutritional aids or take naps, so that we can ward off mental fatigue when we write or present papers or research data. Thus, pacing is as important as creating a sense of balance and perspective in our lives. Actively balancing our priorities is a skill and awareness we need to develop, so that we do not lose sight of the fact that we are living our lives, and need to engage our foresight and insight.

Leadership Lessons: Which kinds of measurements do you take regularly? How do you know when you re making progress in a project? What do you do when the ‘alarm bells’ ring? Which contingencies do engage when are falling behind, or faltering?

The Critical Post-Race Self-Evaluation

Photo-credit: Fireviewer

A race is a test, of sorts. It is an event that allows us to measure our performance both physically and mentally. Most coaches, including mine, strongly advise that we review what we have discovered and learnt after our race. Upon reflection, we can discover useful things that can assist us in our future training and racing plans. These insights and hindsight can certainly benefit us, when we apply them with purpose. Here are questions you can ask yourself:

1)    What went well during the race? Why?

2)    What could have been better during my race? Why not?

3)    How did my nutrition plan go? Did I experience abdominal discomforts? What would I do differently the next time? What would I not change?

4)    How sharp were my transitions? Which ways did I delay myself? How could I slice seconds off the next time?

5)    Which mechanical issues did I face? Where and why? How able was I to solve these problems?

6)    What was my mindset during the race? Which was my lowest point, and how did I deal with it?

7)    What was my sense of awareness during the race? How alert was I? Was I ‘in the zone’ or ‘zoned out’?

8)    How did I show my appreciation and recognition to the volunteers and spectators? Did I recall thanking them?

9)    Which is my area of focus for most improvement? How would I approach it?

10) How would I tweak my preparation for my next A-race? What can I learn from others?

By reviewing your performance, you can earn valuable lessons from your challenging event. Triathlons and endurance races are no walk in the park – until you experience the ‘bonk’ or fatigue. Our investment in the sport is high in terms of physical effort, emotional stress, and social impact. Make each attempt at a race count. Be accountable for your actions, so make the post-race review a strategic part of your long-term strategy to sustain yourself happily (and for as long) through your active lifestyle.

It May Not Hurt (Much) to Take A Break

The reality is, few people will be fondly remembered for coming to work early, leaving later than others. That is old school and out of date. Result and performance matter more, than putting in the lengthy, unpaid, overtime hours. We are the sum of our efforts, but not because of it. Effectiveness and efficiency ranks higher than people who look busy, are unproductive, and slow in their movements.

One thing we can draw from triathlons and journalism is: fail to meet the deadlines, and you are done. It is painful to watch swimmers being dragged out of the swim leg of the Ironman triathlon for failing to meet the 2 hour 20 minutes cut-off timing. You have 17 hours (exactly) to complete the 226K of swim, ride and run. You need to respect the stringent guidelines for each discipline/phase, for therein lies the challenge of sports. Faster, stronger and higher – these are and to be the Olympic ideals.

If your work-life dominates your entire being, then it may be eminent that you may seriously need to take a break. Request for the nearest duration of leave days you can use. Workaholics are employees who allow their work to dominate and desecrate their lives. All work and no plays, does dull your mind and body. If you choose to bring work home, you do it out of your choice. If you think it spells into future results, do it for deliberate and clear reasons.

If you think that as a marathoner, that you must do 70-90 kilometres a week of running then that is your belief. If another runner attains similar if not better results than you do with less mileage, then you need to recognise that. There are many variables to factor in for sporting excellence, and over-training may not be one of them. Some of our elite age-group runners run only three times a week, and supplement this activity with cross-training: star-climbing, hill-running, weight-training, core stability work, cycling, swimming, and others.

I just took a two-day hiatus from work and endurance training and did some travel. One of the physical discomforts I experienced was newly found, soreness and stiffness in some of my muscles. I may have exercised some muscle groups used in retail-therapy, or it could be my body responding to rest. When muscles heal during inactivity, they may feel weak and sore. Fret not – it is merely nature’s way of repairing overworked muscles and weaving a stronger fabric. That way, you will be cut out for the work when you begin training or racing.

Leadership Lessons: Take time to smell the flowers. If you are Type-A, learn to slow down occasionally. If you are pushy, hold back your forcefulness. Push through with your earnestness; yet pull with your influence. There are more to life than work and play; explore, discover and enjoy. Work less, however work effectively.

Purposefully Peaking For Your Performance

Over the last few weeks, I have been focused on building my base fitness for my next Ironman training cycle. My training cycle for IMNZ 2012 is based on a 20-week cycle. The first 4-6-weeks was spent building my aerobic-engine, with long-distance running and cycling. I was aiming to consistently do up to three sessions each of the three disciplines of swim, ride and run. Each discipline will include moderate, medium and mad sessions (terms I learnt from Chrissy Wellington’s former-coach, Brett Sutton). In mileage, I will have one long, lower-intensity session, and two shorter higher-intensity workouts.

The remainder of my preparation time will be based on meso-cycles, lasting three weeks each. Each meso-cycle is based on two hard weeks of training, followed by an easier recovery week. I will build up my fitness through the building blocks of endurance to strength to speed to power. The recovery week will be crucial to my ability to give another strong hit to my fortnightly, hard sessions. A few, short but specific B-races will give me the competitive 'drive' I need to stay mentally prepared for racing.

My reality check is emphasis on my weaker stations and focus on form and fitness. For my swimming, technique will reign supreme. By focusing on my 'feel for the water', specific drills and swim-sets, I should be able to earn a wetsuit-based PB in Taupo. I will focus on over-distance for my riding, and the build interval-based speed as well as hill strength. I will maintain my run fitness once I complete the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2011; I hope to earn a PB in the local course.

Core-stability and strength workouts comprise an additional 2-3 sessions in my week. Each session includes 2-3 sets of calisthenics (bodyweight-based) and weights-based exercises. I have worked up to 5 exercises of push-pull exercises done with no rest. Post-exercise stretching and massage completes my mega-equation for Ironman readiness. This additional core workouts helped me tackle the hilly course of the Hong Kong Marathon 2011 where I secured my first BQ; I had no hill training, except step-ups and lunges as my strength exercises.

I continue to work closely with my coach, Fox who is headed to a possible sub-10:00 hour at IMWA. He recently earned 6^th placing at the Port Mcquairie Half-Ironman 2011 race, and top in his club-level sprint triathlon. He finished with 126^th (sub-5:00) out of 817 participants: In his age-group, he was 1^st in the swim in 26:35, 3^rd off the bike in 2:39, and finished with a 1:49, predominantly-hilly run. He is teaching me how to use Powertap-based, specific power wattage, high-intensity interval sets, training to enhance my bike legs. Fox certainly knows when to peak for his races and his numbers have been quite close to his expectations.

I decided to check ‘leadership lessons’ on Google, and surprisingly, I earned the #1 placement. This is temporary, just as fitness is a temporal thing that needs to be maintained and challenged at times. In Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), consistency is one of the main keys of being noticed. You can stay in race-standard, peak condition for only a short period, so timing is crucial in order to do well on race day. For those doing IM Western Australia, may you achieve near-peak fitness on 4 December and have a memorable race!

Leadership Lessons: What is your performance cycle like? How do you attain peak performance at work? How do you ensure that you meet all your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and more? What happens to your performance after you get your promotion, bonus and incentive?