Gathering Energy

Chris Palmquist, December 26, 2019

The holiday weeks are a chance for everyone recover from year of working, training, accomplishing, battling and achieving. Over the years, I have found this time to be critical for mental health and emotional and physical energy. Here are some things that athletes can do to be primed to start 2020 off with energy and enthusiasm.

Family/Friends First

If you are lucky enough to spend extra time with family and friends over the holidays, make those experiences your top priority. Go for a walk with everyone rather than that solo run - it may feel like a sacrifice today, but you won’t regret the opportunity to talk with your teenagers or reconnect with a relative when you look back on this in the future. Slow down and play a game with your kids. Eat the holiday food and enjoy it. Do the things that you don’t have time to do in the thick of a competitive season.

Reflection

Take some time to formally reflect back on 2019 (and the decade). Go through your calendar, training log and notes. Remember the races, the key training sessions, the workout buddies, the successes and the misses. What worked well? What accomplishments make you proudest? Write all of this down in a journal. How does this reflection effect your 2020 goals? Celebrate and learn from the past.

The best athletes and coaches have a strong reflection practice. Now is a good time to start this practice if you have not reflected formally and regularly in the past. Get a journal and start writing your reflections. This can be one of the most powerful tools for endurance athletes.

Effective Goal Setting for 2020

As you may have heard, resolutions usually do not work. They are often grand ideas for self improvement that are simply too lofty to keep for long. Instead, create some 2020 goals that are based on the daily processes that you can control, measure and build on over the year to great success!

Examples of process-oriented goals include:

I will swim 2 times per week in January

I will eat 5 servings of vegetables and/or fruit per day when possible

I will do my easy workouts at a true, easy effort so that I can crush the hard training days

I will find and commit to some training days with workout buddies

I will get 7 hours of sleep when possible by setting an alarm to shut down the electronics and get to bed on time

The above goals, are examples of process goals - controllable, achievable and measurable. When met regularly, these processes will add up to success at races and in overall health later in the year.

Recover, Reprioritize, Reflect and Set Good Goals

Use these last days of 2019 and the decade wisely. Recover and reflect deeply. Enjoy family and rest. Set process goals for January. Do these things well and you will have energy and a plan for success in 2020.

My family will be doing the same and wish all of you a Happy New Year! I am so thankful for all of you!

It’s going to be so cold for those first 10 strokes…

Getting a training session started is the hardest part

By Chris Palmquist

Your alarm goes off. Now is the critical moment. Will you turn it off, roll over and sleep another hour? Or will you stiffly get out of bed, put on workout clothes and head out for that training session?

Your brain is skillful at firehosing messages to sway your resolve

It is dark. This is not normal human behavior. I need sleep. My back aches. I think I might have a sore throat. I don’t really care that much about getting faster. It might be icy. The pool is freezing this week. I have an important meeting later and should rest for it. I haven’t run in 3 months, why start now?

If you work from home like I do many days, you might have the whole day (even evening) to get in that workout. This is not helpful! It is amazing how many things you think you have to do before you head out to train.

You are not alone. I know a few people who are AMAZING at getting in their workouts every morning before dawn without fail. But they are the exception. As for the rest of us, it is hard for any of the following reasons:

You have important work to do first.
You hate those first few swim strokes when the water shocks your body with COLD.
You are coming back from a long layoff and feel uncoordinated and clumsy.
Your body is sore or stiff and you know that it will be uncomfortable until you get warmed up.
You don’t really believe in yourself and your ability to achieve your goal.
Your partner discourages your training.
You don’t want to leave your dogs home alone. (Guilty)
You are too hungry. You are too full.
The kitchen floor needs sweeping.
You are stressed out and just don’t need more stress.
Fill in blank here ________________

These are valid and important feelings and reasons! It is easy to understand why we procrastinate from starting or skipping workouts entirely.

BUT, we are endurance athletes and we know these truths. If we start the workout…

We will finish the workout.
We will feel awesome after we train.
“Motion is lotion” - our achy joints will often feel better.
Our stress levels will lower with exercise.
We will know that we gave ourselves a gift of health and that knowledge will help the whole day be better.
We will get stronger. We will make progress towards our goals. We will start to believe.

Effective solutions to the workout procrastination problem

Amanda Leibovitz (Certified Mental Performance Consultant at www.epicwellnesswa.com), my good friend and frequent collaborator, is finishing her PhD in Sports Psychology and is working with injured service members, athletes and sports teams. She recommends the following tools to crush your tendency to put off that next workout.

Use “Whypower” instead of willpower. Know why you want to achieve your goals. Imagine a memory or experience that you will be proud of if you train and accomplish your goals. Know your “WHY.”
Take action rather than thinking. We are over-thinkers. It is not helpful in this situation. Stop it! Turn your brain “off” (mostly) and just get going.
Review your your reason why, then state, “I will (get out of bed, dive into the pool, take the first pedal strokes, start my run, etc.) after I count down from five.” Then, say it out loud, “Five, four, three, two, one…GO.” Read the Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins for more.

Counting down from five may seem a little silly. But I can attest, it really works. Find your Whypower, turn down your over-thinking, countdown from five and let me know how it goes.

Let’s GO!