PM:
Objective: Coaching
6 hours of coaching basketball on top of a full day of work. No time to train.
John Frieh was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about a myriad of topics including: prioritizing time, efficiency in training and specific goals and objectives in training. I learned a great deal in the 40 minutes that we talked. It is awesome to be able to tap into resources like him to better prepare me for life as well as my training. Below are some points that I found extremely helpful in my own journey:
A.) LESSONS:
1.) "You can never outperform your own self-image" Mark Twight
- This was a huge eye-opener for me. If my training is where it should be and I have paid my dues by putting in the work necessary, then I need to trust in my training and have the right mental state of mind in going into my objective. If I train hard and have mental fortitude and toughness as well as a state of mind that is made up on accomplishing my task, chances are I will accomplish it as long as it is realistic and is backed up by the proper training volume.
2.) Keep my goals realistic:
- Being realistic is a difficult thing to do, especially for a highly motivated person. Often times I find myself biting off more than I chew. John encouraged me to plan my training hours out per week and then keep my goal realistic depending on how much time I can find to dedicate to my training. He briefly talked about the ebbs and flows of life. I have found that there is a season for everything. Plan the objectives of my training around these seasons. For me, that means that the winter I will most likely have to lower my training volume due to coaching basketball. I will have to make up for that volume in the summer when basketball is in off-season.
3.) "If it is important to you, you will find the time to make it happen" John Frieh
- Such a simple thought, yet it is so profound. As with everything in life, if something is important to you, you will find the time to make it happen, weather that be spending time with your family or getting things done at work. Why not apply this principle to my training as well? I apply it to a lot of areas in my life, yet I struggle constantly in applying it towards my training. There are 24 hours in a day, I must learn to use those hours as efficiently as possible.
4.) Continue keeping a VERY detailed training journal:
- Keep my training journal up. Use it to experiment and find out what works and what does not. John stressed that this was something that was of the utmost importance if I am going to take my training seriously.
5.) Find the problem, asses, make changes necessary and then try again for a better result:
- Never become stagnant. Constantly be pressing the boundaries and searching for ways of self-improvement.
6.) Use the gym as a tool, not as a sport:
- Use the gym to better myself as a person. Use it to push my own personal boundaries and reach that mental point where I am faced with the simple choice to fight or flee. Better myself and learn to suffer in the environment of the gym so that in life and in my tasks and objectives I will be better prepared from a mental standpoint. Press the boundaries and fail every once in a while. Failure is a very valuable tool. Never be afraid to fail. Use it as a tool for self-improvement.
7.) Always have a task or objective that I am training for:
- It does not matter if this is GPP or a specific objective like my ultra-endurance events, pick a task and work backwards from that date. This will allow me to properly lay out my training in organized periods of time.
8.) Read and always learn
- He mentioned two books I should read, the Time Crunched Triathlete and the Time Crunched Cyclist. I plan on picking them up soon.
9.) You training MUST do its best to simulate your objective or task
- Dan John has stated that if something is important to it every day, if it is not, don't do it at all. I need to apply this to my training. The fact of the matter is that I have a limited about of training time between working a full time job, having a family, coaching varsity basketball and training for an ultra-marathon. If something is not beneficial to the task at hand, why do it at all? Why not use that time to work on something that will bring me closer to accomplishing my objectives?
10.) There are NO shortcuts:
- There is no shortcut. We as a human race have an innate desire to find the easiest possible way to accomplish a task. When speaking in the realms of endurance, there is no easy way. There is not shortcut, no smoke in mirrors or free lunch. Volume is key. Repetitions are key. This is true not only from a physical standpoint, but from a mental one as well. The question then becomes how much volume is enough? This question must be answered for the individual and must be learned through years of trial and error, years of pouring over a detailed training journal and years of successes and failures in pursuit of specific objectives.
B.) Applications:
1.) How do I apply what I learned?
- Stop floundering in mediocrity. Have the courage to pick a task and give everything I have to accomplishing it. Be realistic and have an intelligently designed plan based upon previous trial and error and then have the discipline to do what I say I will do. There comes a time in every person's life where they are placed in front of them a choice, a choice to lay in the weeds of mediocrity and live a safe life, never risking failure or humiliation, or to go out on a limb and attempt something that would cripple others who lack to fortitude or discipline to commit themselves to a task and then see if through to fruition. My training needs to reflect the personal values in which I deem so important, values such as integrity, excellence, hard work, discipline and honor.
It is time to put the rubber to the road.
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