It's So Easy to Say 'I Could Have...'

The wisdom of hindsight includes clarity of thought.

Looking back, we could have avoided certain oversights, shortsightedness and being blind-sided. However, all these 'I could have...' and 'I should have...' may, if unchecked, build a structure of regret and disappointment.

Over the years, I have learnt to 'Move on, and get on with it!'. It is great to bask in glory and achievement, but pitiful and pointless to wallow in shame and regret. If we believe that 'things happen for a reason', then whatever happened, did. If you skipped a workout, or reduced your mileage, or did not stretch for a few days - so be it. Do something different the next time. I think discipline is not about compliance, and 'following the rules'; it is about being clear why we become disciplined. Blind allegiance is not loyalty. Compliance is not about having to follow the steps. It is about sticking to a routine or a regimented lifestyle for a while, but not forever. Your call; your choice.

You need not bring the discipline of work back home. Work and personal life may be a part and kept a-part of each other. You can solve and absolve problems when these arise. Reeves Leong wrote about this today.

Congratulations to Grace Chan for getting second for her age-group yesterday at the OSIM International Triathlon. We raced at the 70.3 Ironman World Championships in 2008. Well done, Hui Koon for his PB of 2:42 at the same race. Our Coach, Craig Holland should be pleased with Hui Koon's sense of discipline over the past few weeks.

I Appreciate Your Time

Thank you for reading this blog. Everyday, a few dozen readers pay this blog a visit. It is almost one year old, and we attempt to provide, almost-daily, content-rich matter for you. Hopefully, our time spent on maintaining this passive platform has met your intense intellectual needs and yielded some internal sights.

Endurance athletes are avid watchers of time. We measure our personal best timings. We race against the clock. We clock our performances. We work with cadence and intervals. Time is a valuable abstract measure. We utilize it by managing time, although it can appear to be a false sense of hope. Time is a concept. We treat it like a commodity, banking it into our lives. We talk about saving time, buying time, making time, doing time, and finding time. Yet, it is fairly elusive marked by the ticking of the clock. Every second that passes is irretrievable. Every minute is an opportunity cost.

Many self-help authors and coaches encourage us to make time for important people and things. We do not wish to live a life filled with lies and regret. We want to look back at our lives, one day, and say, ‘I hope I spent enough time with everyone!’ instead of ‘I wished I had spent more time with…’

Timing is everything. Perhaps it is not. However, time when it pertains to timeliness, punctuality, appropriateness of action, are expressions of the right time. Achieving a balance of life and work requires shifting our priorities and investing time for both critical variables in our lives. It may not be useful to dwell on the past, yet we can enjoy the moment, and look forward to our future.

Stretch time. Compress it. Enjoy your experiences. Live day by day. Live it. Make it livid and vivid. Avoid losing huge chunks of time over the unimportant and unnecessary. Stop and smell the roses. Invest time in the short-term so as to gain more in the long-term.

Can you make time stop? Is there an end of time? What will do with your time this week?

Desperately Seeking Spectator

This morning, I rode on my new road-bike setup. It was my old Orbea Vitesse with carbon Profile Design CX-3: not a good setup where the best bike-fitters are concerned. It was a plea that was answered, with relative contraindications (a term I gleaned from Dr Ben Tan, a leading sports-medicine doctor).

The past week of doing strengthening exercises for my core, mainly the Plank, and Side Plank have helped me settle in well into my the aerodynamic-position. My back felt relaxed, chest open, and breathing was free and fluent.

As was advised by David Greenfield - my bike fitter and owner/founder of Elite Bicycles - I was to ride about an hour to test-drive my new adjustments. Instead, I rode 60km of my expected 90km menu this morning. Once I noted the sensations, comfort level and muscle behavior in my body, I decided to jettison the remaining 30km as my convalescing body sort of 'reminded' me. I bade a fond farewell to the pack of riders, comprising Roger, Aristol, Mervyn and Danny. Tee dropped out as his hunger pangs held him ransom, and he surrendered to a roti prata breakfast.

Tee and I connected on my way back to the race venue of the OSIM International Triathlon. It was Day 2, and the age-groupers were flagged off early for the Olympic Distance. When we arrived, having removed our shoes and carrying our bikes into the spectator area, the veterans were running in from the sea. The sea looked relatively calm, and I hoped that the jellyfish were elsewhere, distracted by what these gelatinous blobs of barbs do.

I continued to cheer for a few familiar faces when Tee left. I chatted with the race emcee, Rosman 'Roz Man' about triathlons. This seven-time, 'voice of local triathlons' did an impromptu interview with me, ending with a cheeky 'Yes' when he asked if I was skipped this year's race because I was getting old! I shared with him some fragments of trivia, including MP Teo Ser Luck's 1,500m swim time (which I optimistically put at about 24 minutes; Teo came in at about 26 minutes), age grouper profiles, and my recent accident. I cringed when he announced to the crowd the cost of my damaged bike. I was hoping to catch my friend, Byron Nifakis and I did - running from the sea, on his bike mount, and after his first loop of the ride. I trust he has a good race as he looked in fine form and in good spirits.

I learnt again that playing spectator is hard; the sun was basking in full glory. We had to refocus our eyes over three events, and the visual montage of lycra-wrapped, glistening bodies whizzing past on their incredible machines at breakneck speeds. I suddenly felt like racing; so, I rolled my iron zebra away and rode home.

Now I know why I race: spectating is hard work, and requires a different set of motivations.

How Would You Lead With Social Media 2.0?

The trendy and fashionable use of terminology like tweet, text, e-mail, Skype, and FB me is so centred on oneself that it misses the real deal. Do we really need to participate in every social media movement?

Why participate in these social media networks? Is it a position that you take in the scheme of your personal and professional communication? Or, is it a deep-seated interest you take when it comes to the digital communication platform?

As an active member of selected forums, Twitter, and Facebook I make it a point to establish, maintain and sustain contact with my tribe. My tribe of friends, business associates, students, bloggers, educators and visitors comprise the main profile of my readership and relations. I actively keep in touch with my friends/followers as they provide me another window to their lives and lifestyles. I also get a glimpse of the world, despite our geographic divide; after all, the world is flatter.

Education and entertainment are what the Internet mainly provides. There is a fecundity of websites and blogs, and a plethora of information that will never be fully consumed in one’s lifetime. Thus, we must be clear about how we will communicate with those that matter, and how we can sustain these relationships. Otherwise, we waste time and valuable resources – and time is non-renewable.

It is flattering to have a wide followership, yet pointless if these connections are merely pedestrian and voyeuristic. If you are an Internet marketer, good on you for getting a share of eyeball time! If not, it is a false sense of confidence you may create for yourself until you plunge into the nadir of abandoned followers (or deserters) who make an exodus for the nearest beeline of fresh distractions. Loyalty is a scarce commodity and value to be desired, however difficult to build unless you apply the principles of influence (Cialdini, Robert B.)

Afterthoughts: Call a friend. Really. Make an actual phone call, not a text message. Lead with your mind and heart. Let your fingers do the walking. Get things done faster with the speed of thought, and a conversation.

Lessons Learnt from Fellow Bloggers

I have been reading my favourite blogs, of which belong to friends in the triathlon and teaching community. I draw sustenance from the insights, observations and opinions of these heartfelt writers - they write with both their heart and head. The more these writers write, the more I can identify their styles and notice their improvements. Writing communicates one's influence on a different level than speaking or dialogue.

Hui Koon went for a bike fit last night and he described his lessons learnt from a 6-hour session. There are many points I agree with, as I underwent just as comprehensive and personalised a session last week. I, too, discovered my weaknesses and how to strengthen them. The good news is that these deficiencies are correctable, yet it will take dedicated practice, training and physical adjustments to restore balance to my body. We should take care of our body in order for it to perform to its best. We need to unlearn bad habits and train our bodies to functional naturally and symmetrically. Re-education can be a splendid and spectacular journey.

Matthew urged us not to swim in the lagoon yet as the jellyfish community was in full bloom. His ordeal of being badly stung by the invisible invertebrates has received concern from our small but tightly knit tribe. Tribal members look out for the well-being of each other; this led many to share their experiences and remedies on the popular forums. He maintains his positive spirit, despite a arduous working schedule. Well done, mate! I enjoyed his recent piece on high technology equipment and margin of improvements.

Note to writers: Be true to yourself. Respect your writing. Keep typing and scribing.

Note to self: Keep doing the core exercises regularly. Activate my glutes. Focus on proprioception. Keep my feet flat when pedaling.

Low on Technology, High on Heart

Matty wrote a sensible piece on his observations about improvements made on triathlon technology versus the tumbling of records. It appears that our predecessors Dave Scott and Mark Allen still scored well in the Ironman triathlon world championships in Kona in spite of their less-sophisticated, prevailing technology on gear and nutrition in the 1980’s.

My sense is that the pros in first decade of Ironman’s history raced at Kona got some of the fundamentals right.

1) They trained harder and longer.

2) They were focused on racing, and not on the pre- and post-race politicking.

3) There was less pressure on them for a budding sport.

4) There is more to lose, than gain for performance.

5) They were much tougher and resilient.

6) They experimented more on what works for them.

7) They relied on their intuition while racing.

8) They relied heavily on core values like patience, respect, determination, persistence, passion and courage.

I think they put more heart into their actions. Imagine racing with Speedos for both the swim and run - the abrasions they must go through! They certainly looked less fancy, in their blinding luminous designs yet they stuck to their guns. It was almost ‘all or nothing’ for their performance and efforts.

What do you think? Do you think that they got their priorities right?

Turnaround Time

In manufacturing, turnaround time is the speediness of shifting from one line into another. For example, the complete canning line can be converted from pints to quart size within minutes; similarly, for pint bottles to quarts. I am, obviously, partial to the larger volumetric measures when it comes to chaffing liquids into my body after a long run ('My body is a sponge!' goes my mantra). Downtime is what we experience when we experience no work/productivity during the changeover period.

This evening, I ran 21km (against my better judgement). I suspected I picked up a bug from some of my students, or the girl sitting next to me on my flight back last Monday. She was coughing and sniffing away - so, she could have influenced me in a deleterious way - as evident tonight.

Nevertheless, after 11km I decided to do a faster turnaround time to test my legs after a week of no running. It was a decent effort, about 5 minutes a kilometre. Drinking, unhygienically, with my cupped hands at my designated water-points, mainly the public toilets situated at about 3km intervals, ate into my run time. By holding back on the first half of my run, I was somewhat fresh on my second loop.

Afterthoughts: I tend to go too hard on my first leg, when I could exercise a little patience. By going hard, I can drain my reserves and catch more time with a possible second or third wind. How often do you engage your patience when dealing with colleagues, customers and contractors?

During thinks: You can, intuitively, sense if you are not feeling well and beg off from pushing hard. Sometimes, you just feel flat or lethargic. In tonight's case, I experienced just that. In doing so, I actually went faster instead of slower. How can we apply turnaround time in a team setting? How do you accelerate their efforts in a time of crisis?

Join Me In Writing

Who: You and everyone you know. No experience required.

What: 100 pages of original scripted material in 30 days. (Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome.)

When: 1-30 April 2010. Every year. Mark your calendars.

Where: Online and in person (if you want!). Hang out in the forums, join your fellow participants at write-ins, and make friends by adding writing buddies online.

Why: Because you have a story to tell. Because you want a creative challenge. Because you’ll be disappointed if you missed out on the adventure. Because you need to make time for you.

How: Sign up. Tell everyone that you are in the Frenzy. Clear your calendar. (Singapore participants: While you are it, get your taxes done now!) Start some wrist exercises. Have fun!

The 5 Basic Rules of Script Frenzy

1) To be crowned an official Script Frenzy winner, you must write a script (or multiple scripts) of at least 100 total pages and verify this tally on ScriptFrenzy.org.

2) You may write individually or with a partner. Writing teams will have a 100-page total goal for their co-written script or scripts.

3) Script writing may begin no earlier than 12:00:01 AM on April 1 and must cease no later than 11:59:59 PM on April 30, local time.

4) You may write screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, comic book and graphic novel scripts, adaptations of novels, or any other type of script your heart desires.

5) You must, at some point, have ridiculous amounts of fun.

[Well-Red Writer: Crimson deep in thought and plot.]

Life Goes On

‘Oh yeah, life goes on…long after the thrill of living is gone.’ ~ John Mellencamp

My friend Eve wrote a tribute for her late-friend, Ben Mok. Ben passed away last week, and many cyclists attended his farewell service. A one-minute silence, as a sign of respect, where fellow cyclist wore their cycling helmets was observed. The symbolic gesture and high-profile case was featured in the local news.

If what it takes to observe safe riding on the road, is the unfortunate death of a fallen cyclist then the price is too high. I believe that alternative forms of education could be initiated to teach and remind road users to engage a sense of mutual respect. We share the road – not just with motorists and cyclists who pay road tax. The road is a dangerous place, and we should not invite antagonistic behavior and hostility.

Passive reminders aside, this is a world fraught with a myriad of distractions and abundance of impatience. We need to take responsibility for our personal safety. Unless you are a cyclist, you may not empathise with one. It is so easy to blame, and pin a mistake on an adversary however it takes two hands to clap. It also takes only one hand to signal in advance, brake safely, give a friendly wave, and press the traffic light button. Sometimes we ride, other times we cross.

It is time the Tribe bands together to achieve its objectives. We can be a Force without showing force. We can Push and Pull. We can reinforce new behaviors and interventions. We need sneezers to spread the word far and wide. Life must go on – yet it must go on with eyes and ears wide open. Ignorance and selfish intentions do not pay. Go on, and live safely for all our sakes.

In Search of The Third Tsunami

They warned us about this. Futurist Alvin Tofler predicted in his landmark book, The Third Wave about the coming of the Digital Revolution decades ago. Trust these systems thinkers – they know how to how to connect the dispersed, invisible dots, and link it to a line to a perceived future. From the Agricultural Age to Industrial Age, and now the Digital Age: from really using our ten digits to digitising information into compact and compressed, virtual versions.

My clients have asked me about ways to enhance strategic thinking, and thus, by extrapolation, strategic thinking in their organisation. How can they help develop strategic thinking and, thus, impact the bottom-line of their business?

My response (not answer) has been startling and a starting point. Why focus on one when we can engage thinking at all three levels? They are:

1) Tactical

2) Strategic

3) Systemic

Peter Senge wrote in his renowned thesis The Fifth Discipline: In Search of the Learning Organisation. One of the five platforms he discussed and described is Systems Thinking. My client asked me to explain systems thinking on my recent trip to Xian, PRC. I approached my explanation this way:

‘Tactical thinking is the putting out of fires, when these appear – firefighting. Strategic thinking is about preventing the occurrences of these fires. System thinking is about starting fires; some of which can stop other fires.’

I had to concede that although this was not the most eloquent way of explaining the Thinking Triad, it was useful to use the analogy of fire. Forest fires have been stopped by surrounding (siege) the wild bush fire with may smaller, controlled ones; these fires are set to clear a bald perimeter of earth. These fiery interventions destroy the inflammable forest around the raging fire, so that the fire has nothing to consume as it expands outwards. Thus, the saying goes: ‘To fight fire with fire.’ Chinese medicine has expounded on ‘combating a poison with a poison.’ Perhaps, it takes a thief to catch a thief?

A challenge for companies: Build frontline and top-of-the-line resources (processes and people) to gain on bottom-line (profitability). Develop top-of-mind brands and top-line thinking before going down on others (and blaming others).

Shortly, I will touch on the relevance of each of these thinking orientations in the organizational setting.