Lindsey Heim

Some thoughts on mediocrity...

A lot on my mind lately. This being one of them. Nothing novel, just thoughts. Likely influenced by being on break and the clearing of the academic clutter from my mind coupled with much time on the trainer, treadmill, and driving solo in the car.

Athleticly, What makes the great people great, the ordinary people extraordinary? Does it hurt just as much for everyone to run an 8 minute mile, and the fast ones can just HTFU and bear the pain better to manage 6 min miles. Or, is it true that 'it doesn't get any easier, you just get faster.' Am I just a wuss? Possibly. I guess Dr. J. Daniels, has a few thoughts on what we are given genetically and what we do with it:

He divides people up into:
AA - Those with great genes and great commitment
AB - Those with great genes and less commitment
BA - Those without the great genes and great comitment

BA can defeat AB in a race. But BA cannot defeat AA.

An interesting point, and gives us "BA" people hope. A recent occurance (or maybe this retrospection is all in the spirit of all of the 'year in review' shows that are yet to come) had me going through past race results and realized that I have made dismal gains in my performance over the past three years. Not a fun thing to realize, but it is unfortunately the truth. After my initial journey from couch to athlete, and the exponential increase that one sees when proceeding with such a change, things have leveled off, and I have been in a solid comfort zone of being a mediocre mid-pack triathlete. One with the masses. My accomplishments and talents in the past three years include perfecting the following:
- training that is perfectly consistent and sporatic at the same time (yes, it can be done)
-dialing in on the best gray zone possible and increasing the volume there over many seasons (yes, I can race any distance that I want in my gray zone)
- figuring out how to get away with 90%
- getting sick
- catastrophic mechanical failures
- having a heck of a lot of fun (to give myself a little credit)

These accomplishments equate to the following:
- I am a mediocre triathlete
- i am a mediocre bike racer
- I am a mediocre runner
- I am a mediocre swimmer


Clearly, based upon the N=1 in my experiment called 'training.' There is no difference from year to year with what I am doing.

Chinese proverb:
"Insanity is dong the same thing over-and-over and expecting a different outcome."

Extraordinarily profound. Nobody wants to be insane. Things have changed and they are changing. It is just refreshing to remind myself exactly why I need a paradigm shift and why change is needed. The new experiment has started. Step by step.

1. figure out how to get well and stay well (almost done, getting over my latest nasty cold)
2. every workout has a purpose and a goal, and it will be met
3. faster= better w/kg (ie: lost weight= instant improvement without even working for it)
4. pay attention to nutrition and hydration in training (break my habit of trying get away with riding until an empty tank= crappy ride)
5. figure out IF and how #3 and #4 can coexist
6. sleep more, and don't feel guilty for it
7. give form and efficiency the time that they need
8. keep my love for swimming (I'm pretty sure my swimming mojo is back after it decided to go on sabbatical )
9. have a heck of a lot of fun
10. it will be harder, it will be tougher, but I am in control and things will get better. Progress happens in small steps.

There it is- the recipe. Let the madness continue.