To his credit, one of the winningest coaches ever, John Wooden, never made his UCLA basketball dynasty out to be anything more than it was—a collection of wonderfully talented athletes who played superbly as a unit due to their willingness to sacrifice individual acclaim for the ultimate success of the team. In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court (1997), the coach shared these thoughts on the topic: “Long before any championships were won at UCLA, I came to understand that losing is only temporary and not all-encompassing . . . I’ve also learned that winning games, titles, and championships isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and that getting there, the journey is a lot more than it’s cracked up to be.” Success to Wooden was found in achieving peace of mind, which is a direct result of knowing that you did your best to be the best you could possibly be.
A good way to keep you new years fitness resolution, you’re still working on them I hope, is to plan for an event such as a state games competition. Here is the link to the Nebraska State Games. There are a variety of events to choose from. I would recommend the ones with an aerobic component to them to challenge your fitness.
I’ve been following the publicity hype, that the Giro has been putting on, since December. Not that they need to sell me that the Giro is the best stage race but this video is great. Talk about motivating. This video is right up there. If the Giro motivates me anymore I might end up hurting myself.
I have to give a little tribute to the Vuelta, also. The Giro is probably the hardest 3 week stage race but the Vuelta is the fastest. My mom’s Spanish. It’s in my blood to like the Vuelta.
Roadies know how to party. Oh you Giro, you got me pumped.
It’s why, as a coach, I charge what I charge and don’t give any discounts. It’s called accountability. For most, money will hold you accountable. My deepest passion is to see you fit and have a healthy lifestyle. I would love to give away my services but I have and people have just given on changing their lifestyle. To me, I’ve failed. Charging, for my services, also holds me accountable. Knowing that someone’s hard, earned money is being used to further their health. I don’t want to see you fail.
I’ve learned, on a personable level, that to not fail you must be held accountable. Bike racing is expensive from equipment to entry fees to travel. I go without a lot of luxuries just to be able to do this. Money can hurt.
Thirty years of justifying, to not fail, and I’m as physically fit as I was when I left high school. You can do it, also. Sacrifice for the good.
More power to you.
Marc
Posted by Marc Walter as motivation at 6:00 AM MST
Woke up this morning and decide to go racing. No big deal to pack up the car. It’s actually really simplistic. Keep it simple.
Some people I’ve travelled with take way to much stuff. Two bags to go to a weekend racing and most of it is cycling gear. Gear that you won’t even use. Look at the weather forecast and take what you’ll need to be minimally comfortable at the start. You’re going to eventually get cold, wet ect… if that what the forecast calls for. This is bike racing not some beauty contest.
The battle isn’t to get to the race. It’s the race.
During the off season, or anytime for that matter but especially during the off season, I like to set one of the non-athletic goals for my athletes is to read up on some psychology pertaining to mental skills. This link to Marvin Zauder’s website is a very good resource. Even though the site is geared toward mental skills in sports the information can be used for fitness goals and daily living.
