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Archive for September, 2009
Higher levels…
Saturday and Sunday involved 11hrs of serious training effort. I rode 6hrs (no Flats!) on Saturday and ran 2hrs 20mins on Sunday. Its interesting what you think about while putting out serious effort over these duration. Why am I doing this? This is going to hurt tomorrow. This is suppose to be fun isn’t it? After all, I don’t get paid to prepare and race Ironman. Each time I had one of these thoughts I had a simple answer. I thrive on achieving higher levels of performance. It is my motivation. Each time I prepare and race I get better. And that is what this is all about. I don’t have any interest in just finishing a race. Anyone can do that. Its about pushing yourself past previously thought limits.
I’m Specialized
I ride a Specialized S-Works Transition, It’s spectacular to say the least. Its the fastest, stiffest, best handling TT bike I have ever owned. And I have own some serious TT bikes, Cannondale, Soft Ride and Trek. I am not doing this post about my Transition, I am doing it about FLATS. My last 6 rides have resulted in FLATS. For those of you who ride seriously, you understand that FLATS are part of the deal. But 7 FLATS in the last 6 rides? Absolutely ridiculous. Keeping in the spirit of being Specialized, I have been riding Mondo S-Works Tires. Comp tires, which are light and good for racing. Unfortunately these tires are prone to flat. Its partially my fault because I live in Michigan and the roads here are pitiful. Lots of debris. Nonetheless, I switch to the new Specialized Armadillo Elite – Wow. Fantastic tire. So far so good. I rode 50 miles today. No flats. Its a stiff tire, harder ride and great handling.
Balance – Ironman – Compulsive
Below is a video on Ironman. Many that watch this say you have to be crazy or selfish to be an Ironman. Hmm… I get asked often about having OCD. What I find interesting about those that ask, is they themselves suffer from OCD. They Obsessively and Compulsively Do nothing. They really don’t do anything except maybe work. But because I work, take care of my family, swim, bike, run, eat, sleep and repeat daily, somehow I am obsessive? I ask them, what is that they do that occupies their every day? Their thoughts? Almost always, they don’t have an answer. Because I train and race Ironman Triathlons, it is demanded that I balance my family, work, training and social. Otherwise none of it would work. I am finding that I am more at peace than nearly all my friends and those that think I issues.
Message of the day…
“Give what the greedy man won’t and you will get what the greedy man wants”
Assessments that matter…
For those of you that may not know Bob Lefsetz, check him out here: lefsetz.com/wordpress What makes this guy so good is his commitment to share his assessments of people in the music business. Is he “right or wrong”? Millions agree with him and he is gaining momentum in followers. He says what we are all thinking.
Race weekend.
Saturday I raced the Reeds Lake Triathlon. It was a sprint race (1/2 Mile Swim, 18 Mile Bike, 5 Mile Run) and basically a high intensity training day. The conditions were perfect and I felt really good. My goals going into the race: Swim 13 minutes or less, ride 45 minutes or less and run 42 minutes or less. I actually swam 11:40, rode 45:50 and ran 40:20. So I nailed the day. I ended up placing 28th in my age group of our 94. All in all very good day. I had one serious weak spot. My transitions. I wasted 2 minutes in T1 and 1 minute in T2. This 3 minute loss was the difference of me being in the top 15 of my age group and top 100 over all out of 1000 racers. My swim time was 41 best overall and my bike time was 45 best overall. My run, while greatly improved for me, was only 459 overall http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp?rsID=83640 I have 8 weeks before Ironman Florida. I have zero doubt now, I will achieve my goal for Florida which is to go 10:30 or less.
Thought of the day
“We don’t see things the way they are, we see them the way we are..”
A promise in business.
I have recently been dealing with a company who’s leadership simply fails to deliver on any of its promises. From the CEO right down to the the VP of Sales, including the COO. What is amazing about this company is that they are public and have a board of directors which are suppose to be governing the management. Are they? If they are, its not apparent to the shareholders. This may backfire on them over time. What is particularly interesting given the times we are in, is the relative ease with which this management team of this public company routinely makes commitments (promises) and the simply fails to deliver. Not only do they fail to keep their promises, they fail to even discuss why they blatently break them. They don’t even attempt to discuss potential remedies. They have become criminal, in my humble opinion. Just when shareholders are trying to trust what the management of their companies are doing, we find such clear examples of failed leadership and a board of directors allowing it to occur. Has anything really changed in corporate America? Maybe in some circumstances, just not this one. Many of you reading this know the company. If not, call me and we can discuss.
