Advice from a River – Go with the Flow...

From Advice From a River by Ilan Shamir: Live simply and gracefully in Your own True Nature moving, flowing, allowing, serene and on course It takes time to carve the beauty of the canyon rough waters become smooth Go around the obstacles Stay current The beauty is in the journey!  My goal race and focus for this year is a sub-9 hour race at Ironman Coeur d'Alene (2.4-mile swim / 112-mile bike / 26.2-mile...

Focus – Nothing Else Matters...

"Nothing else matters." - Metallica This quote is written across the bottom of my triathlon "Vision Sheet" – my written statement of what I want to accomplish this year in the sport of triathlon and that I have pasted to my bathroom mirror so that I see it every single day.  My written statement is my dream I will realize if my hundreds of hours of training and single-minded focus converge...

The Commitment Continuum: Where Do You Fall?...

“It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.” — Paul William “Bear” Bryant (1913-1983), former Univ. of Alabama football coach with 6 national & 13 conference championships As an athlete, I ask myself directly, and as a coach, I ask my athletes indirectly: “What is your level of commitment?” It’s easy to say, “I’d like to try an...

Have a Coach. Be a Coach....

My client and friend, Peter O'Dunne (picture at right from Ironman Lake Placid), wants to qualify for Hawaii and, as his triathlon coach, I'm going to help him get there.  Like Peter, I also have a coach - pro German triathlete Olaf Sabatschus who coaches me for triathlon.  From Olaf's guidance and 20+ years of experience including Ironman wins at Brazil and China, I've learned a tremendous...

True Desire is Never Borrowed...

A few weeks ago, I started "word of the week" with one of my coaching clients, Peter.  Peter, like many of my clients, wants to get to Kona and the Ironman World Championship.  He wants to take the more difficult path and qualify by finishing near the top of his age group in another 140.5-mile Ironman race.  As his triathlon coach, I'm going to help him get there. The idea behind "word...

Setting Marathon Goals: Client Perspective...

This winter in the Baltimore and Washington DC area – as well as much of the U.S. – has been especially tough for training for longer events like marathons and Ironman triathlons, as we’ve had three snow storms since December and temperatures that have stayed around the freezing mark, making riding and running outdoors difficult and sometimes impossible. Throw in a demanding job (think “constant...

Your Best 2010!...

The best way to begin the New Year is with this little ritual. This is the second part of the New Year Ritual from my friend and executive coach Margarita Rozenfeld, founder of YES!Circle and Incite International.  This ritual is a fun and powerful exercise that can be applied to any and all aspects of your life.  I covered the first part of the exercise, Reflecting Back on 2009, in an earlier blog post. ...

Reflecting back on 2009...

With the end of 2009 and the beginning of a New Year fast approaching, now is the time to reflect on 2009 and start looking ahead to 2010.  This reflection ritual below is one I received from my friend and executivecoach Margarita Rozenfeld, founder of YES!Circle and Incite International, who I've worked with on and off over the past few years.  This ritual is a powerful exercise that can be applied to...

A Navy SEAL and the Ironman Triathlon...

As a Naval Academy Graduate (Class of '93) and former Navy submarine officer, I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the Navy SEALs.  In my mind, they represent the ultimate in endurance fitness as they train for their missions on the SEa, Air and Land (SEAL).  On the navyathletes.com website, which promotes the Navy and especially the Navy's Special Warfare/Operations communities,...