Update

Yesterday I ran 40-minutes. I'm working my way up! It's slow progress but it's progress. Two steps forward, one step back. No more three steps forward and one step back! I've been mountain biking some as well, and I'm absolutely loving it! It's a great x-training tool for easy rides and bike handling.

The other day I was at the recycling centre and couldn't believe what can be recycled. You name it, you can recycle it! They had shoe bins, plastics, metal, mixed metal, lights, bathroom fixtures, housewares, appliances, E-waste, paper products, newspaper, cardboard…the list is long. Basically, if one were to take the time to recycle what they put in their garbage bins, it would basically be everything (except chip bags, VHS and the like). It got me thinking….we waste a lot in this society!

If you were to go down there today, you could literally find enough scraps of metal, wood, and old appliances to build yourself a lofty home! It makes me think of how much "things" I throw away that could easily be used by someone else. When I was there I saw about a dozen items that I could easily have used as well. But, trying to down-grade to literally a bike and bike box, I had to refrain myself from picking them up. At least, now I know how I can down-grade!

Tips, Secrets, Workouts, & things I've Learned....

Working with two of the best coaches in multi-sport, Chuckie V and Brett Sutton (Team TBB), I've come to appreciate their expertise and experience. I've learned a lot this year (a year I needed in more ways than one, I think) about myself, training and what I really need to do to be one of the best. I'm picking up the pieces and putting the jigsaw puzzle back together. I want to share some of these pieces with my readers! Well, as much as Chuckie and Brett will allow me to, anyway! The link above, Tips, Secrets, Workouts & things I've Learned, will be updated regularly using the links below. It will become a lot of links, but who ever said this triathlon stuff was easy? Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer!

Swimming...
Running...
Cycling...

A new love...

Yesterday I was the proud rider of a mountain bike! I haven't ridden a 'real' mountain bike for quite some time. I have an old beater I've been riding around town to get groceries and such, but nothing compares to a bike fully-loaded with front and rear suspension, disk brakes and a comfy saddle!

My neighbour let both Chuckie and I use his mountain bikes (his girlfriend's and a tester bike). Here in Park City there are millions of trails and we've yet to fully embark on a day's adventure. We've only traveled by foot on the outskirts of town. Yesterday though, we were on two wheels and joy riding like kids.

I think I found a new love. I may have to try out an Xterra event. We rode on some trails that would literally make your head-spin. The external input from riding is very different than road riding. Your brain has no time to think, just react. It's a truly amazing feeling. You find yourself in the moment, every moment! If you find yourself thinking, you may find yourself head-over-handle-bars.

I may just have to try an Xterra and get dirty!

Tour of UTAH

See the blog post on the Team TBB website. :)

A hike does the mind and body good...

Today I enjoyed a leisurely hike with Chuckie around Park City. Getting away from the computer, from people and from noise is the best way to clear the head! I've been reading some good books. One is by Dan Millman, How to Succeed in Life and Sport. Thanks Chuckie for the hike...

BODY BIO!

Yes, this is an advertisement...but I only do this for products I use and 100% stand behind. Keep reading! :)

For the past couple of months I've been using Body Bio Oil (in capsules: very yummy to chew!). It's a 4:1 ratio of organic sunflower and flax seed oil blend made by BodyBio. Why the importance and need? They have the essential fatty acids required in a sound diet, and in the proper ratio!

A quick review: Essential fatty acids are quite simply: essential (the body doesn't create them, you have to ingest them). In today's massive market of food, crap and more crap, the balance of oils required for optiomum nutrition is out of balance. We've all heard of Omega-3 and Omega-6's. It's hard to get these little numbers in order! The correct ratio is 4:1 (4 parts of omega 6, linoleic acid, to 1 part of omega 3, linolenic acid). This is very hard to find in the vast amount of food options we have in our grocery stores.

I'm not a nutritionist, but I know how important good fats are in the diet. I love these little gems because 1) tasty, 2) easy to take, and 3) I know I'm helping myself nutrient wise. I take them throughout the day...usually 12/day.

The second product by BodyBio is E-lyte. In some of my races I've had crazy legs cramps, usually right after T2 . I've tried other products but nothing compares to E-lyte (that I've found). 1 capful for one water bottle. E-lyte is a very high concentrated form of electrolytes. .Because of the high concentration of both Potassion and Magnesium in E-lyte, the cramps don't happen! Edward Kane explains it best: The E-Lyte Story: Why You Need Electrolytes!

I plan to write more about the specific nutrition products I use but the above two or some of the best.

Update

Thanks so much for the great comments - both on my blog and email. I really appreciate the support.

I'm slowly getting my groove back. It's all about the moment...the day. I'll write more as I'm off to bed after a long, awesome training day. My body has been in a continued state of sympathetic drive lately, but now that I've had a few days of regrouping, talking with Chuckie V., and figuring out what I want in life, I'm getting focused. 2010...

I was thinking the other day, my brain has been like a record player: the worry record. Without thinking, my mind has been playing the same songs over and over: "You're a failure...you're never going to make it....it's not worth it....blah,blah blah." The more you play these negative thoughts in your head, the more these neural circuits are patterned and fire. Neural circuits are similar to the grooves on a record. The more you play the same song, the more the needle goes to those grooves. This is what has been happening... the crappy songs have been playing for quite some time! I'm ready to change records.... re-pattern the old neural circuits.

Listening to the old standard at the moment: Don't Worry, Be Happy.... and Get in the Ring... Anger is a must in sport; it breeds competition! :)

Today by the way, was my first 30-minute jog (in segments)! Whoot whoot!

A huge thanks to a reader

Below is an amazing, sincere email I got from one of my readers. I really appreciate this email and it made my day.

Hi, I found your blog... I'm an amateur triathlete. I've entered Lake Stevens 70.3 and trained every day since mid-March. I've put my life and my soul into one event this year. Everything else was on hold. The plan was to show up this Sunday, kick ass and place top 5 in my age group, and go to Clearwater. Alas, it looks as if a knee injury and another medical condition have other plans for me. The downward spiral of worry, doubt, anger, frustration, pain and much disappointment (your words!) started about 6 weeks ago. Before I couldn't do anything wrong, and now it seems I can't do anything right.

The way out of a rough patch is self-motivation and passion for the sport. I've lost both. You need to want this so badly you can almost picture the race day and the finish line while you are training. Instead, the training these past few weeks has turned from fun to a chore. That inevitably lead to fewer and fewer training hours, which further eroded my motivation. The pain wasn't helping, but I don't think that my physical health alone was entirely responsible. Ironman is as much about the mental toughness as it is about the physical one, as you no doubt know.

The race is just 30 miles from my house. I'm tempted to go and watch, but that I'm afraid might be too bittersweet. Tough-as-nails athlete isn't supposed to cry. :)

I'll be back at Lake Stevens next year.

Thank you for writing today's blog entry. It was truly inspirational. I completely understand and sympathize with most of what you wrote, with the exception of two things: you are NOT a failure, and please stop with the tombstone talk! Things will look up before long and the rough patch will be a distant memory. You know that, right? Keep training and stay injury free, and you'll regain your motivation. That in turn will help you place well in your next race and the path of success will open up before you.

Take care.

-A

Reflection

I’ve just read Matt Fitzgerald’s blog on being a being a lowly participant (as opposed to being a competitior). I’m afraid to say that there are many themes in his writing that pertain to how I’ve been this past year. Since first being injured in March, my own life has been controlled by worry, doubt, anger, frustration, pain and much disappointment. My own motivation this year has been based solely on trying to prove to others and myself I’m not a failure. Albeit, that is exactly what I’ve become these past few months. I’ve failed at ‘not re-injurying myself’, progressively increasing my training, and I’ve failed at keeping my head in check. I’m going through what one would call, ‘a rough patch’.

After being injured, trying to keep some type of sanity has been difficult. When I finally had the go-ahead to start running, I took this as a sign that I was 100% injury free. This is not the case. After a mere two weeks of running, I injured my Achilles. This is now resolved and I’m back to a slow walk-run protocol on the track. I’m cycling and swimming. So, what is hindering me right now?

My head, my mental game, my stress and worry….all self-inflicted. I’ve made some mistakes these past few weeks and now I’m fighting the consequences of these actions. It makes me wonder what I’m doing with my life and where I’m going.

I have the desire to be the best triathlete that my body will allow me to be. I know what I need to do to be injury free, and I know what it takes to be a professional. So, why do I keep making mistake after mistake? If I had to name all the mistakes I’ve made in my life, I’d have to write a 200-page essay. But, one might say, isn’t this how you learn? Everyone makes mistakes. Yes, everyone does…but as many as I have? You have to learn from these mistakes.

One would think after being in athletics this long, I’d have learned what my body is capable of doing and how to stay and be mentally strong. Not so. I have MUCH to learn…

Last year, my first professional year in triathlon, was an amazing experience. Since then, I haven’t found what I had last year – mentally and physically. 3+ months of no running or cycling will do that to you. But now I have to learn the patience that comes with fighting your way back to 100% health (both in the mind and the body).

2009 - a stretch of injury, disappointment and self-inflicted pain, worry and regression. But one isn't without hope. I wouldn’t be typing this if I didn’t have any. Maybe (actually, without a doubt), this is the year I needed. How else will I improve who I am as a person? So, change it Angela. Learn! Be the person you see yourself as!

Every morning I wake up stressed. I wake up believing that I won’t be who I dream of becoming. I wake up thinking I have lost so much this year that next year I’ll never be racing to my true potential. I worry that I’m done as an athlete and that I’ll keeping making the same mistakes. I worry about stress, finances,and personal relationships and the stress I pose on them. My life is literally a big ball of worry that is ready to explode. After making some big mistakes in my life these past few weeks, I’m left wondering what tomorrow will bring? Perhaps, I’ll have to accept what I’m already believing and breathing – that I am a failure. Undoubtedly, this is where I will continue to go until my death-bed….unless I CHANGE.

I can’t expect results to come to me. I can’t expect that I’ll be healthy without taking care of myself. I can’t expect to go back into training 100% when I’ve been sitting on my @ss for half the year.

I can’t keep letting life float me by. I can’t keep pretending. I need to get focused. I need to find self-love.

I have to accept that I may not race this year. I have to expect to live on credit when racing has been side-lined...and not worry about it! I have to expect that building myself back up from ground zero takes TIME.

It’s now or never, Angela. Or, you’ll keep digging your own self-made grave.

I’ve already written the tombstone:

Angela Naeth, professional triathlete for 1 year
…died a long, slow, self-inflicted death
Remembered by her failure in her 2nd year as a Pro
RIP.

CHANGE. How do change a mindset that has been so ingrained in me this past year? I know that if I continue what I’m doing, I’ll regret the rest of my days on earth. I need to pick up the pieces again. I need to find what my true motivation is in the sport and live it! I need to live with hope.

So where is the roadmap? How do I change?

1. Rediscover the motivation and enjoyment I had for the sport.
2. Build on my desire and determination to be my best.
3. Take one day at a time. Build upon them.
4. Believe in the dream. It’s the next three years that will build my success… it doesn’t come in a day.
5. Remember the streets in Manilla! Remember how good I have it in life. I have two legs, two arms, a healthy heart and I live in North America. I have food. I have some great and amazing sponsors. I have people that believe in me!

To be continued….

Pieces of the PIE part 1

A lot of things have happened in the last few weeks/days. The weather has changed to COLD, the days are getting shorter and the rain is starting to fall again! I'm not sure what happened with Mother Nature, but she has gotten mighty upset.

I've had to take a little side-track off training to help 'heal a heel', and my mind! If you have more time on your hands, thinking about injuries, more injuries come - mentally and physically. The year is looking to be a "learning' year for me. Racing is on the side-lines until I'm fully recovered from this past year's injuries and health issues. I'm staying postive and taking each day as it presents itself.

I'm keeping up with some training and working on the little things: mental game, nutrition, recovery and coaching others. I've found great joy in this so far and hope to continue helping those coming into the sport achieve their goals. It's been an exciting year in that, as i've learned a lot by being part of Team TBB and working with the Doc himself, I can bestow a little of the Team TBB secrets to others! :) ... it really does come down to hard work, consistent training and staying healthy.

For me, the biggest lesson I've learned this year is that there is a lot of pieces to a whole. To be your best in the sport, each slice of pie has to be eaten! ...and yummy enough to enjoy daily. My pie chart this past year has been construed into more of a 1/8 inch 'mental worry' piece that I continue to eat and leave the rest of the pie to spoil. I'm sick of eating it now and have realized, with the rest of the pieces spoiled, I need to start anew.

So here is the new pieces in my pie:

1. Training
2. Recovery
3. Head Space
4. Nutrition
5. Housekeeping (in the literal sense and overall pie)
6. My coaching and giving back to the community/supporters/sponsors
   

In upcoming blogs I'll delve further into each of these areas.