Hi folks, welcome! Noticing a bright and detailed image of the outside world through a small window in a dark room, I was struck by the imperfect or incomplete picture of the world it provided. Knowing the forest outside this house quite well, I could fill in the surrounding details for quite some distance, but what if I was not privy to this information? That little window view would be the world to me. This ... Read more
Gedankenmeditation Enriches Your Endurance Training And Your Life In General
Hi folks, I cannot imagine what my life would be like without regular meditation. How do people quieten their minds without it, I wonder. To sit quietly, mind silent, increasingly aware of your internal and external worlds, intermittently watching your mind so as to encourage inner silence. It feels great! Recently, I decided to gently explore different thoughts and feelings during my meditation ... Read more
Patience, Consistency and Skill Are The Real Keys To Endurance Training Whatever Your Age
Hi folks, Social networking, whether on the Internet or locally (in real life?), plays an important role in our lives, directing us towards or away from the critical human interactions. I was recently approached for advice on triathlon training via a circuitous path, initially as result of a face to face conversation between two people in our little grocery store, Johnny's Gone Fishing, which ... Read more
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words But The Real Thing Is Even Better
Hi folks, Be it looking at a photograph of the planets versus seeing them with your own eyes, listening to music versus playing an instrument yourself, or or watching sports versus undertaking a sport, the 'real thing' is always better, in my opinion. The first time I observed the rings of Saturn directly through a telescope that I had purchased, it was an exciting if not a 'spiritual' moment. The ... Read more
Conflicting Instructions On Head Position In The Water: Can Both Coaches Be Right Or Is It All In The Eyeballs?
Hi folks, Head position is critical for most sports, being at the 'crown of your posture,' and your head is heavy! I have received conflicting instructions on head position from different swim coaches over the years, but this conflict was glaring recently. Coach #1: Whilst swimming with Rick Fee, who is coaching me in the local pool, he said, "Kevin, you are swimming looking at the bottom of the ... Read more
Long Hill Climbs On The Bike Provide Excellent Physical And Mental Conditioning
Hi folks, The last day of Chez Ollie in Tucson, Arizona, included a long climb up Mount Lemmon, with a 2.5-hour cutoff time before descending back to SagMonkey, and the ride home. This is a beautiful climb, with cacti everywhere, and breath taking views, whilst the climb goes on and on and on at a 3-8% grade all the time. Great training! As one climbs for a long time like this there is a lot of ... Read more
Don’t Let Ageism Or Any Other Ism Determine Your Peer Group
Hi folks, I was sitting in my triathlon camp hotel room in Tucson, Arizona, the other day, thinking about the issue of looking versus seeing. It was getting dark so I turned on the light, and what a difference to my visual field. No amount of looking with the light off would have revealed the details of my 'extra-computer screen environment' that were visible with the light on. In the dark my ... Read more
Don’t Change Your Strategy During The Race
Hi folks, After yesterday's long (80-100 miles) hard (climbing and head wind all the time) bike ride, followed by a 40-minute run, we were left looking a pretty tired bunch, over all. I then found that I just couldn't think beyond what to eat, which became a whole pizza and more, and then sleep, which was long. Now my brain feels fried, but it was my body that did the work - the brain and the body ... Read more
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