The Need For Proper Positioning

Jack Trout and Al Ries – marketing gurus – wrote the definitive 1981 book ‘Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind’ which has become a must-read book for those practising marketing and branding. It can certainly be extended to leadership.

Positioning also shows you how to:

1) Build your strategy around your competition's weaknesses

2) Reposition a strong competitor and create a weak spot

3) Use your present position to its best advantage

4) Choose the best name for your product

5) Determine when, and why less is more

6) Analyze recent trends that affect your positioning

Battles may be won without seeing your adversaries. War of words can take place off-line as well as online. The digital domain has become a non-physical, yet honest platform for people to air their emotions and opinions. Each approach has its consequences and impact, and these must be considered for we leave our imprint behind.

Writers leave their indelible print behind. Noam Chomsky writes about his reaction to global news and questions our over-reaction and premature celebratory responses.

Leadership Lessons: How do you earn the hearts and minds of your team members? How does your staff view you in their mind’s eye? What is your status to them? How alert and aware are you of the impact of your messages on others? How do you lead the head, hearts and hands of your people?

Tapering Your Efforts

It is exactly 12 days before my 11^th Ironman triathlon: IM Lanzarote. It will be my second attempt at the same race in the Canary Islands in four years. I have begun my taper, as there is not much else I can squeeze in, in terms of aerobic fitness and speed. However, I need to stay sharp and injury-free by sticking to the training habit, for complete rest can be counter-productive. Overall, my mileage has been reduced to 60 percent its peak volume. However, my emphasis has been placed on speed work, core stability/strength sessions, and recovery. Why is the taper critical?

Tapering is necessary for:

1)    Getting ready for the race, physically and psychologically.

2)    Building up full resources, so as to meet the challenge fully resourced.

3)    Priming oneself for the stressful working conditions of competition.

4)    Reducing the overall volume of work, but maintaining or upping the intensity.

5)    Staying alert and responsive to action. Complete rest is not useful.

6)    Keeping the body supple and less tensed.

7)    Focusing on other aspects of preparation, like equipment checks and setting up contingencies.

8)    Being disciplined sticking to the plan, strategy and personal vision.

Leadership Lesson: Learn when to taper. You cannot go at full steam ahead, all the time. Fatigue can set in and disrupt your plans. Warm up is as important as the cool down. Use cooling periods to calm down, not clam down conflict at the workplace. You can gain as much with less.

*****

I am looking forward to my run clinic on Sunday morning, as part of the Marina21K evening races. I will be doing swim, rides and runs on alternate days to keep my body tuned up, and attuned. Stay tuned!

Making Adjustments Part of Your Performance Strategy

I slept in this morning, although I intended to ride earlier. However, rest is an important aspect of training that has a domino effect if we reduce it significantly. After last night’s 25K run, I was still recovering, as my legs felt a bit weak when I encountered headwind on my ride. Two hours of committed riding with focus on spinning my compact-crank (had this retro-fitted this week) and the feel of new tyres, I grabbed lunch and then headed home. My ride felt good as my measurements continue to serve me well on my custom-crafted bike. The entire frame was not made from a mould, but constructed by hand from my measurements.

Here is an article one by of my Twitter friends, Victor who wrote what I believe is worth considering if you want a comfortable, long ride. Seek an experienced bike-fitter locally to refit you. Stock-frames are not built exactly for you body, unless you are willing to reconfigure your posture, flexibility and muscular imbalances to fit yourself to the whole bike. Here are some self-help suggestions you can use prior to your actual bike-fit.

7 bicycle fitting tips to make you more comfortable (and faster) 

Though there is no substitute for seeing an experienced bicycle fitter, there are a lot of simple things you can do on your own.

Adjust your seat height. A properly adjusted seat-height is the most important aspect of bicycle fit. A rough starting point is with your foot at the bottom of the pedal stroke you should have around a 30-degree bend in your knee.  This will give you a pretty close approximation of your saddle height from the bottom bracket to the top of the saddle.

Adjust the cleats on your shoes. I strongly encourage you to have the cleat position professionally evaluated. If set up incorrectly ,you will be wasting power and in some cases cause muscle strain and injury. The basic idea is to set the rotation of the cleat so that the center lines up with your natural gait.  The fore and aft adjustment is dependent on your style of riding, body asymmetries, among other variables.

Raise your handlebars. A higher bar-height will open up your torso to hip angle and help with saddle comfort. Lower-back, hamstring, and hip flexibility are key to this positioning in this area. Improve your flexibility and improve your position. Raising your bars is also a good thing to do when you are not riding as much. Your flexibility will change as your fitness changes.

Level your saddle. Your saddle should generally be level or the nose pointed slightly up. If the saddle is uncomfortable in this position there may be something else that needs to be adjusted.

Level your bars. The drops of your handlebars should be roughly level or slightly up. This helps keep all the hand positions open.

Tilt your aerobars up slightly. By tilting your aerobars up slightly most people will find a more relaxed position for their upper body. Aerobar set up is a complex issue because of differences in design and use.

Put insoles in your shoes. Most cycling shoes have no arch support at all.

Victor Jimenez is a bicycle-fitting specialist and the owner of Bicycle Lab. Bicycle Lab is based in Carrboro, North Carolina. Go to http://bicyclelab.com and sign up for his cycling tips newsletter.

Focus On What You Can Control & Lead It

Beyond managing, is leading. Do you rather manage change, or lead the change?

Just an hour ago, I completed a 25K evening run. Coach prescribed my last long run (26K @ 4:46 km/minute) as part of my Gold Coast Marathon/Ironman Lanzarote preparation. It was a clearly challenging proposition, as I had to meander about the busy and congested running/walking paths. You can only stay your course until a child rides a bicycle across you pathway, endangering both the child and you. I observed many other nocturnal runners – obviously preparing for the upcoming two overnight marathons – dodging human traffic, many weekenders oblivious to the fact that runners were sharing the same paths. I did not meet my target, however was please I had a pleasant run at moderate pace.

It is so easy to let emotions run their course and ruin our moment. Instead, we can recover from our fear response (fight or flight syndrome) by focusing on other things and choices. Either I choose to be angry or I can choose to be vigilant and agile. Agility is an aspect of total fitness that is often overlooked, since many are focused on developing aerobic fitness. Being agile allows us to instinctively react, physically, to sudden jolts and surprises. The startle response activates our fast twitch muscles, so that we jump up or to the side. It is something automatic that our body has been evolved to do. Shocking moments in horror films do make us jerk in our embarrassment.

I saw a few familiar faces – including my triathlon buddies, Lap Huan and Chong Mien – probably training for their first marathon or 100K in May and June, respectively. I bumped into my boot-camp buddy, Lua Choon Huat who is a renowned Masters elite-level marathoner/ultra-marathoner. We met at my 21K mark and exchanged pleasantries and notes about marathons we have done recently. He is featured on Dr Ben Tan’s book ‘Run For Your Life’ (which we reviewed last year, and highly recommend as a comprehensive book to study) for having run high-altitude marathons in Kenya.

Hydration is a key factor when running at night for the humidity can be almost 100 percent. The occasional sea breeze may offer brief and welcome respite, however still air can create a heat blanket. I thought I was adequately hydrated, however I was not. I discovered my urine was mildly bloody – a condition caused by less urine in your bladder when you run – and it did startle me, somewhat. I experienced this condition about five years ago, and worried that my kidneys were failing, however upon scrutiny of the online medical sources, I was somewhat assured that my bean-shaped partners were functioning, albeit giving me fair warning. Lots of fluids, including a simple concoction of sweet barley drink cleared my condition overnight.

Leadership Lessons: Work your locus of control. Manage and lead with what you can influence. There is no point crying over spilt milk: move on! Learn from your mistakes and discoveries, and make adjustments so that you are prepared (and agile) for the likelihood of similar events emerging in the future.

Walking Your Talk & Running Away With Your Ideas

‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world.’ - Mahatma Gandhi

Eric Clapton sang the definitive song ‘Change The World’. It is about making way for your dreams and aspirations. The Buddha taught: ‘Do good. Be good.’

If we want to experience something, we will have to initiate it. We need to start off with something others can see, hear and feel. They will need to be convinced before they decide to emulate the new behaviors. People seek meaning, their raison d’être. Without meaning, there will be no relevance or reason to change. Change must present benefits, or it will be met with indifference and stasis. Your first steps will determine the likelihood of you completing your marathon, building your new team, and achieving your goals, targets and dreams.

To promote peace, we have to be peaceful. To promote health, be healthy. To enhance quality, raise our personal and professional standards. We are likely to be more effective when we lead with our intentions and commitment. Practise what you preach. Lead and follow with values and actions.

Demonstrate through your actions. Be the change you want to see. Go out – and do it!

To Salt Or Not To Salt

What in the world can we believe in?

In the past, hypertension or high blood pressure was strongly linked to high salt intake, mainly sodium. The result of this new longitudinal study (same set of subjects through a period of seven years) challenges the prevailing mindset that high salt intake can lead to increased heart disease.

Active athletes consume a fair amount of salt during the race. We load up on electrolytes especially if sweat profusely, and tend to cramp up during strenuous physical activities. So, salt intake from sports drink may not raise our blood pressure up unnecessarily. After my first series of cramps at my first half-Ironman distance race at Desaru in 2007 (and at Ironman NZ 2006), I decided and committed to using electrolytes and salt as a intrinsic part of my racing tactics. During the week preceding a race, it is not unusual to over-salt our foods from pretzels, sports drinks and table-salt in our food.

Read about Macca’s soft heart. No – he is doing fine. The title of the story is misleading, although captivating like our personal beliefs.

Beliefs need to be updated, and they can be out-dated. They form the foundations of behaviors and actions. To do, or not to do – that is the question. Doubts merely cloud our judgements and actions. Negative thoughts are beliefs disguised as excuses and learnt haplessness.

Until you run 10K, you’d never believe that you could. The same goes for any physical of mental challenges. I never thought I would complete an Ironman race (nor do 10), run a marathon (and qualify for Boston), run an ultra-marathon (and place near-top-10) and qualify and complete for a triathlon world championships (twice). Each achievement and personal best timing prepares us for other possibilities.

Update your beliefs today! Achieve the reach of your potential.

Patience As Your Virtuosity

I recall the opening credits for each episode of the 1970’s television series, ‘Kung Fu’. The blind Shao Lin master monk would say to the young Kuai Zhang Kane: ‘Grasshopper – you have finally snatched the pebble from my hand. It is time for you to leave the monastery!’ A visibly sad, Kane would then get his first and last tattoo (of a dragon – what else?) seared into his puny forearms when he carried the hot cauldron with the embossed tattoo outline across a reasonable distance (to set the imprint). Indelible printing technology has come a long way! When I see the blood red ‘M-Dot’ on the Achilles Heel of triathletes – I know that they may have made their pilgrimage to Kona, Hawaii for the Ironman triathlon world championships. Such is pride born of patience.

My friend, John Cooke reached his target weight whilst training for his next Ironman in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. He has been patient and continues to reap benefits from his discipline to stick to his plan. We will be headed up their in about two weeks’ time. Three other participants dropped out from the original team, and are focused on Ironman China instead. This is a blog about a patient 45-year-old runner.

It takes time to improve. Youth has an advantage in terms of physical recovery. That does not mean Masters athletes don’t have an edge: we can get more with less. The over-40, athlete can become fitter and stronger with shorter mileage, and increased intensity. Thus, strength and power training through kickboxing, interval training, kettle-bell training, CrossFit (circuit training), core stability work, Pilates and yoga can enhance one’s physical performance when included in a weekly training menu. Proper nutrition takes time to be processed (digestion is about patience) and assimilated by your body.

The more challenging the goals or higher the expectations – the more patience we need. You cannot rush a professional photographer through a session and hope for great shots. You cannot be impatient with your convalescence when you realize that antibiotics and medicines take time to work their effects. You cannot rush potential business-partners or clients to seal a deal when trust and honesty is not fully there. Patience pays. It pays to be patient. Education takes time. The marathon is a longer race, run at a slower but sure pace – but you will get there, even if you walk.

If you like to test your patience, sign up for this mint race! It promises a totally new scenic view.

Leadership Lessons: How patient can you be? When do you lose your patience? How do you apply your patience to your profession, recreation and relationships? 

Nine Perspectives Towards Balancing Your Views & Opinions

There is much talk about creating work-life balanced or life-work balance. How successful (or stressful) have you been in achieving that? Is this wishful thinking on our part, or something of luxury reserved for retirees, wealthy Internet marketers, and the monarchy?

Thinking: now, that is a thoughtful exercise. Mind what we say, and do. How do you build an opinion about something? How do you argue your points convincingly in a casual debate? How do you make yourself heard, felt and responded to? How do you form an incisive and informed decision?

1)    Build a wide knowledge base, comprising facts and factual accuracy.

2)    Never stop at the first right answer. Seek alternates.

3)    Listen to a variety of points of views.

4)    Ask questions. Ask: why? Also ask: why not?

5)    Challenge the thinking, not the person. Prejudice clouds judgement.

6)    Consider what you think and feel. Never divorce the two if you wish to build balanced viewpoints.

7)    Check your facts. Make sure that you are updated.

8)    Avoid being smug when you win an argument – you, probably, did not.

9)    Consider what you can learn from the other person.
10) Sharpen your saw, not your claws.

Head, heart and hands: IQ, EQ and AQ. How do you integrate all three when you intend to help, and effect changes in your family, community and organization? Think before we thought. [I know there are 10 points, but who is counting; and, you might just reject one. Just a thought.]

Pacing, Spacing and Retracing Your Steps

This morning, at about 7.00am along the East Coast beach, I ran 21K with Brian (who won yesterday’s TriBob Mini-Sprint triathlon – his age group, and overall standing) and his friend Gary (who completed IM New Zealand recently). With my trusty Garmin Forerunner 310XT, we took an easier warm up pace for the first 10K, and returned with a fiery fierceness for the return leg. We had a negative split difference of about seven minutes. Brian and I leached lactic acid in our legs as we drove the last 2K at about a 4:15 pace. It was well within our expected time as it began to rain. I was certainly off my prescribed pace (by Coach) for 4:36 minutes per kilometre, however was glad for the effort (5 minutes off my intended, solo pace but not as enjoyable).

We had a chat after the run, refueling ourselves with an electrolyte drink. We discussed training for an Ironman, recovery methods, pacing, bike fits and how to deodorize stinky shoes. The latter included removing insoles, and soaking soiled shoes immediately, for 30 minutes with washing detergent; then, you air-dry them. Direct sunlight (although great for removing organic smells) may denature the material through time (bleaching the colours and desiccating the rubber), so do that with caution if your shoes cost too much.

Throughout our run, I noticed several things:

1)    We met runners – familiar and stranger – with varying social responses.

2)    Some would shy away from us by sidestepping us as we approached them (even averting eye contact).

3)    A Caucasian mountain-cyclist greeted us ‘Good morning!’ to which we returned the pleasantries.

4)    A large group of cyclists gathered and rode off in green t-shirt; it was, obviously, for a non-competitive cycling event.

5)    Familiar runners would return non-verbal gestures of acknowledgement.

Such are the social behaviors of runners, although we can surmise that they are respectful of each other’s efforts. For a public holiday, it was interesting to note that the running and cycling tracks were packed by 9.00am. As Brian preferred, it was better to get the training done early and recover after that.

Back home, as I retraced my steps online with GarminConnect, I could see my pathway on GoogleEarth Maps. I could analyse where I slowed down, and when I picked up the pace. Studying this set of data, I learnt what I could do in the near future. Retracing our step is like taking steps back and recalling our exact tracks. Jogging our pleasant memories is akin to that. Thus, every event or occasion can be relived and retold with enthusiasm.

Water-Logged And A Watershed Ride

Water is one of the five elements of the Chinese, accompanying gold, fire, wood and earth. In chemistry, we know that this natural compound is derived from the volatile hydrogen and combustible oxygen. The human body is 70 percent water, and sustained dehydration can lead to many serious symptoms that may lead to disease.

Our group of six riders unanimously cancelled this morning’s ride into Desaru. Due to it being May Day, the bumboats into Malaysia were enthusiastically booked up, and the latter queues were, unbearably, long. Our 6.00am breakfast of roti prata (Indian wheat pancakes) was soon followed up by a 9.00am brunch of Chinese dim sum snacks. As you can see from the snapshot, we were quite focused about our nutrition.

My ride there was about 20K, so my total distance upon my return would have been 40K – an Olympic Distance ride. I decided to insert a short session of intervals – 2K hard and fast, followed by 2K of reduced cadence (both sets done on almost the highest gear ratio). In some ways, I felt the intensity mimic the climbing of hills; one stretch of Lanzarote (Canary Islands) lasted 4K of a gentle gradient before you hit the mildly distracting petrol-station.

After completing 100K, I decided to head off for lunch (I get frighteningly famished after aerobic activity) when I felt my pedaling feel bumpy. I thought I had run over some debris from the earlier bout of rain, however it felt too urgent in its plea. It turned out to be a flat on my rear tyre – not good as I was on carbon rims, and surely did not want to damage it. I gave the flaccid tyre a quick inflation with my aerosol pump, however it did not fill up fully. I un-cleated my shoes and walked barefoot to the hawker-centre whereupon I had some grub, and called for a taxi back. My first call, annoyingly, yielded no takers and a few random flag-downs of arriving taxis had concerned looks from the drivers of my dirty bike and my predicament. I muttered some unmentionables under my breath before continuing on my sojourn to the food-stalls.

Despite the puncture, I was glad I chose to ride in the drizzle; in spite of the rising horrid humidity I completed my planned sets. The gremlins did reveal their voices whispering tempting messages into my vulnerable brain, but I resisted – crucial on race-day when it is so easy to succumb to a walking spree when fatigue hits you with full force. With exactly three weeks to my next Ironman race, I will focus on tapering – still doing up to 60 percent of the usual mileage and duration. It is so easy to slack off and elect excuses to be inactive. This morning’s DNS (Did Not Show) weighed on everyone’s mind for some time, I am sure.

A Big Shout Out to Brian Tan for successfully defending his title at the TriBob Mini-Sprint Triathlon! I am looking forward to our group 20K run tomorrow morning and listen to his race story.

Pete Jacobs wins Ironman Australia today. It is his first IM win. Congratulations Pete! I am waiting for my friend Terry Tc Campbell (55-59 years) to cross the line by midnight – he has completed a dozen-and-more IM triathlons. Go for it, mate! [Tc successfully crossed the line an Ironman - again - in 16:53:45]

Photo-credits: Vijch G K