Winter L plates and fun

Winter has arrived and snow fun is starting. Lots of fresh snow here now after a week of storms.

The kids are loving sledding and playing in the snow. Jackson was first to get the skis on today for a ski de fond (skating) ski on the trails at Grand Bornand. He loved it despite it being a serious challenge for him on the slippery, skinny long skis with soft shoes to control. I hear you Jackson! I re-found the fun in cross country skiing after the boys were born as it meant I could still ski with them in the baby backpack (unlike alpine skiing). It is a challenge though. Slippery little suckers!


Focussed!

Rob and I are learning to that going anywhere needs a big lead time.  For now we are still getting used to shovelling the driveway, dressing the boys in layers upon layers, trying to get them to put on their own gloves, boots, hats etc so they can do it when cold and tired by themselves and reminding them to come home from school, the movies, friends houses etc with the same things they went with (not very successfully!), getting reused to driving on snow and ice, and taking plenty of food and a thermos of hot tea everywhere for rewarming and fueling after. Hopefully we will get faster after a bit more practice. For now, sorry if we are late or left a glove in your house, we are still in L plate mode. However, like teenagers learning to drive for the first time, we are still loving the ride despite the slow pace.

I hope you are enjoying your change of season too, whether it is the warmer weather arriving in Australia now, or winter as the first big storms blanket big chunks of Europe and Nth America in white.

A bientot
C

Setting and achieving remarkable goals

Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru

Aung San Suu Kyi has been released in Burma after being under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years! Amazing to see her finally released. How do great things occur? Even more interesting to me is how do great people, achieve such remarkable lives? Her life has been strongly influenced by another remarkable soul, Mahatma Gandhi who in his 78 years influenced (and was influenced by) South African politics, created a new form of effective non-violent political opposition, imagined and then “fathered” modern India and influenced generations of people around the world, particularly empowering those who feel disempowered by their circumstances, such as Aung San Suu.

Just like great sport people seem to have more time in the field of play to foresee and respond to the competition, great achievers seem to have more time in their lives to make extraordinary things possible between the mundane requirements of day to day existence we are all encumbered by. Some of the differences come from talent, but everyone knows the most talented kid at school doesn’t often become the most successful. In my view great achievers seem to fairly consistently posess unusual courage to set audacious goals, the ability to work out how they may get there, or at least start the journey, effective adaptive capacity, and then amazing energy to sustain the effort despite obstacles.

“Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.” Dennis Waitley

For me personally, I use goal setting to motivate me to try for seemingly large goals such as racing with top 10 results as a pro in 4 key large races despite only a few years in the sport and being eligible for veteran (over 40) category. Two years ago I would not have dreamed that was feasible. At the time I hadn’t raced tri seriously for nearly two decades. It also helps me consider what should gain priority on any day, like today. Is it better to spend my time playing outside with the kids, helping them with homework, going out training, writing my blog, catching up with friends or doing my French homework for Monday? Reality is I would like to do them all, so do I try and do them all incrementally or a few. If a few, which takes priority? Well set goals help me make these decisions.

It’s also topical for me as it’s that time of year to consider resetting my goals. No, it’s not NYE yet, but the end of the year is heading our way, my season is over and it’s time to start planning and preparation for next year. So I'll share some of the process I go through for you to take and adopt or adapt as best suits. I set my goals in the following, generally sequential stages.

• Take the learnings from your last set of goals (these may or may not have been explicit)
• Consider new goals in consultation with others
• Make the goals SMART and consistent
• Accept and share your goals with your “team”
• Go for it!

When I think about goals, I tend to consider them in three parts; the desired outcome, expected/ planned process and core values. Looking at them as a set of three inter-related parts helps highlight a basic truth about goals; it is usually the journey, not the outcome that gives you the greatest pleasure and long term personal growth. So you don’t want to let focus and commitment to an outcome compromise you to a point that you don’t get to fully appreciate the path to it.

Outcome: Measureable result such as; establish a new business, complete your first triathlon or ironman, run 10k under 45 mins, complete your studies with an average grade of 80% etc

Process: How you expect to achieve the goal. When you consider the goal what do you think you need to do differently (start, stop or change/adapt) to successfully achieve it. Eg for the 10k run time example above this may be something like: join a club and train with them 3 times a week to keep motivated and build skills, add a key interval session and a strength workout each once a week, lose 2 kgs and determine a race schedule that gives you some 5k lead up runs and at least a couple of options to achieve your target time in case of injury/illness/work or family commitments etc.

Values: The way in which you achieve the goal. When you need to compromise or reprioritise on the way through (as you always need to do) this is the basis on which those difficult decisions will be made. It is all good to have established a successful new venture, but was it was done with the integrity that you expected of yourself. Hopefully so!

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony” Mahatma Gandhi

So the process of goal setting.

1. Take the learnings from your last goals

Before setting anything new, it’s always worth looking at your last set of goals (whether explicit or not) to honestly consider how you went. If you understand both how you went and why, then the next goals will be even more achievable and able to stretch you to greater heights.

In review consider, did you achieve the goal outcome or not? Either way did the process support the goal as you expected? Did you get some good or bad luck (uncontrollable elements) that intervened? How well did you adapt? Did your values assist guide your difficult decisions? What did you learn from it all that you can use again? Then let go of any other attachments to the past outcomes as best you can in order to fully focus on the new set.

2. Consider new goals in consultation with others

Setting new goals is exciting. Imagine the possible! For me next year I’ll be able to race as a pro thanks to Triathlon Australia granting me a licence after a good season this year. This is a really exciting opportunity that I hope to fully appreciate by racing well in some great ironman and long courses across Europe. I am also focussed on building a great business running triathlon and yoga camps in the Aravis Valley with Adventures in the Alps while developing personal skills (such as language) and relationships to make life here in France easier, more enjoyable and connected.



For any big goal you are unlikely to be able to reach it alone or without impacting those around you. So when you consider your goals, consider them in relation to “your team”. Who will need to be involved with you in reaching these goals? Do they understand the goal, their role in it and are they equally happy or hopefully excited by the opportunity?

My team - 2009 World Champs Perth



Your team includes the obvious people such as a coach (business or sporting) and professional service providers (physio, accountant, etc) as well as people you will impact through your goal orientation such as family and friends. Before you make a commitment, make sure they are part of it, understand and are supportive of it. It is not much fun celebrating a birthday without having a great family and good friends around you, even if the cupboard is full of medals / bank account numbers / university honours ...

So by the time you have committed to a set of goals, you and your team have discussed options, established boundaries and reprioritised as needed. Make it easy to deal with the tough stuff before it is even there by recognising where it may come, discussing it and either working out an approach to make it acceptable or rejecting it.

3. SMART and consistent goals

So now to write the agreed goals down and ensure they are smart. By that I mean, will you know if you’ve achieved them or not? Do they sensibly stretch you? Is your team on board and are all aware of mutual expectations? To make it easy, SMART can form an acronym that summarises this nicely.

SMART goals are

• Specific and stretching
• Measurable
• Accountable (the whole team likely to be involved is aware of their expectations)
• Realistic
• Timebound

Secondly, are the goals consistent? Consistent goals are those that do not conflict with each other (internally consistent) or the requirements of the external environment for them to be achieved (externally consistent). Internal consistency from my perspective includes all of my outcomes, values and process elements. If you need to spend all of your leisure hours training yet espouse a key value to be a good family member and friend, then you have a problem coming your way!

4. Accept and share your goals

So now the fun bit. Commit! I think one of the best ways to commit is to share your goals with others and initiate the first step or two. I tend to also write my top three goals on a little card I keep in my wallet. It includes each goal including a time for completion as well as my key values. On the flip side is a picture of the Aravis Valley in winter (taken when the dream to live here was still a dream and seemed a long way off) and a quote on each side. Both quotes are included in this blog.

As you share goals, two things happen. Firstly they can appear more real, explicit and considered to you as you extrovert them in different ways with different people. Secondly, I am always amazed at how many people add value when you share a goal. The team widens beyond your expectations as people share their thoughts or their skills, ask questions that make you realise where you still need to find answers, answer questions or solve problems you have or just offer a kind word of encouragement at a point in time when it is really needed. Big goals are very rarely achieved in isolation.

Sharing goals helps others engage with you in a meaningful way and assist which makes them feel, and truly be valued. Equally it is wonderful to actively assist others achieve their goals, so look for this to always be a mutual or even just outbound activity. To me, this is what community is, people assisting each other achieve what they couldn’t in isolation. It is what makes life rewarding and fun.

5. Go for it!

Commit, or don’t. Once committed, make it real. “Do or do not, there is no try” Yoda

So you have set your priorities, determined how you expect to achieve them and with who. Now time to do the hard work, commit and make the sacrifices that are needed to achieve anything great. That may mean something as simple as foregoing your weakness for citron tarts (not so simple for an old tart-aholic friend of mine!) or getting up at 5am for training in the dark and cold when you’d far prefer stay in bed. If you have set the goals well, including a good understanding of the process, you shouldn’t be surprised by the sacrifices required to achieve them. Additionally unforeseen obstacles can be managed through decisions based on clear, coherent and prioritised goals and values.

Now it does happen that along the way things change and goals need to be reset. I’ll deal with that in a later blog. For now, set your sails for the moon and plan to get there!

So, all the best in achieving your dreams, whether they are simple, great or truly audacious! I’m off to focus on the next priority in my evening, making dinner for the troops!

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagine. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler" Henry David Thoreau

RRRrrrrrr! The three Rs of recovery

Rrrrrr! Living in France, Rs have taken a whole new significance in my life. I am learning to rrrroll my rrrrrs on the back of my tongue in the French classes that I started last week. Jackson often corrects me as his rrrrs just rrrroll off quite naturally now. His 7yo mouth seems far more adaptable to the new sounds required of it than mine. Possibly a good analogy for general adaptability of kids!

A bit burnt out: time to regenerate

Now with the tri season over a few other Rs have become highly relevant in my life too. These are the various stages of post season recovery.

Most athletes are aware of the importance of adapting the mind and body to increased training loads as you go into a new season or set up for a new goal. What is equally important for long term sustainability in the sport is the adaption to lower loads and a good recovery period at the end of the season.

For simplicity I have summarised these into three stages that each have two elements. Conveniently for my theme of this blog, they all begin with R.

1. Initial stage: Rest and recover
2. Secondary stage: Relax and recuperate
3. Third stage: Reinvigorate and refresh

How long you could/should spend at each of these stages depends on a lot of factors including; the extent to which you have depleted your energy through the season/race, your age, any pre-existing injuries or illness,
basic nutrition and any specific deficiencies, previous experience at that level of the sport, sleep patterns and other significant life change/stress.

I was in need of recovery
It had been a very full on 12 months for me, truly rewarding but physically, emotionally and mentally challenging and tiring.


Bright eyed and bushy tailed
Perth Oct 2009

It was almost exactly a year ago (Oct 25) when I raced the Long Course Triathlon World Champs in Perth, Australia. It was after coming third there that I had the idea put to me of moving to Europe and racing triathlon here based in the French Alps. At the time I was enjoying getting back into tri after a very long break, but had all the usuals trappings of a relatively happy, normal suburban life; husband, kids, two interesting careers to juggle, good schools, friends and family, mortgage, etc. We knew it would be a big move with lots of challenges, some foreseeable and others to be found along the way. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Rob and I decided that it would be a good idea to take a year or three out of our "ordinary" life, take some risk, but also open ourselves to the opportunity to experience something a little more extra-ordinary.

Well a year on from that decision and 6 months into the new adventure, I have few regrets. To use a quote I read today;

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.                                                                                            Douglas Adams

In short, it was a very big year, including two tri seasons back to back, a quick trip to France in the middle to discover the area, finishing up two jobs, shutting down a life (emptying, cleaning and renting out houses, selling cars and other stuff no longer needed, boxing for storage or shipping the rest), then the move and starting again; renting houses, buying cars, setting up a home, setting up kids at new schools, slowly establishing new connections with parents, tri team members etc and of course all in a new language to be learned while training, travelling and racing. By the time I had finished my last race, the Challenge series ironman in Barcelona, I was in desperate need of rest and recovery.

Initial stage: Rest and Recovery
The goal of this stage is initially to recover from the event (rehydration and nutrition, removing any inflammation or tightness) followed by letting the body heal any injuries, rebuild some energy and generally come back to a state from which, if it were mid season, you could contemplate training again without risk of any injury or illness.

For me it took two weeks with lots of sleep and very quiet days to get through the fog of exhaustion. I was not just tired from one race, but a full year of change. I really didn't feel like seeing anyone other than my kids and husband and just enjoyed introverting for a while, sleeping, reading, spending time making our home a bit homely, organising photos or slowly working through all those things that got left for later while I was mid-season. I did almost no exercise, just occasional swims, yoga, easy easy rides and walks in the mountains to assist my body remove residual tightness and tension.

Practicing my barista skills for Rob

Interestingly I actually felt worse for a while before my energy started to regenerate. It was as if by saying to my body and mind, "it is now time for a rest", it responded with a "Thank God we're in need of a shutdown!" and turned off all systems. For someone who usually bounces around with too much energy, I had become someone with just enough (and sometimes not enough!) to make it through a day consisting of the absolute bare minimum. In this early stage while I felt really tired and flat and it was easy to want caffeine and sugar to give me the energy I was missing. I can't say I abstained entirely but I limited my coffee to two a day and really tried to eat nutrient rich food to assist the body get back some energy from within as well as through sleep.

Recuperate and relax
After I felt some physical energy slowly seeping back in, I was still pretty mentally and emotionally exhausted. In this second stage I held back from using the physical energy too early and took time to just enjoy simple activities each day as well as take stock of the achievements of the season and the learnings from it. To use a good analogy, I took some time away from the dance floor, in amongst the crowd, instead viewing the action (both past and present) from the balcony. A better place to get some perspective and see the patterns.

Enjoying the mountain trails 

For me this was a great time to get back into a regular yoga and meditation practice. In the recovery stage I was just too tired and the body too tight to want to practice every day. Once the flat out physical exhaustion had disappeared, I was ready to let the mind and heart have some space to repair. The yoga mat is a great place for that.

I also took to the mountains (another great healer of mine) and walked and/or jogged along trails through the autumn leaves, mud or snow enjoying the well known trails and finding dozens of new ones around the Aravis Valley.

For me, the key for this stage was reducing the noise of the years' events. People talk about the tapestry of life. In this phase I looked at each of the significant threads of the year so that I could settle them more comfortably into the overall weave that is my past, without the noise of all the initial excitement, disapointment or other attachments to them. I am no Dalia Lama, and can't say I do this for 100% of the noise, but look to accept what was and try to only carry forward what can impact the future positively.

Refresh and re-invigorate
So the past is let go as best I can, the current day is back into full technicolour and the body and mind are relaxed and ready to look forward again. Time to get excited about what is yet to come. A funny indication for me that I was ready to look forward again was when I got sick of the girly novels I was reading and started picking up more challenging and interesting brain food instead.

So enter the dreamtime. This is fun, looking at the world of options and opportunity possible to us as a family and me as an individual and deciding for the 40th (or maybe 140th!) time what it is that I would like to be when I grow up. Then working out how to make the dreams real. I have a little card in my wallet with my three major goals for 2010 on it. Along with the goals I have 4 key values written underneath that I wish to maintain in the achievement of these (or any) goals. After reviewing these in the recupe stage, it was time to let these go and start to consider what my 2011 card would look like. My values, although reviewed don't change year to year usually, but the goals all needed to be reset.

I have now had some time to work out my tri season goals for next year which I am really excited about. To do so I applied for and have been granted a professional licence from Triathlon Australia so I will be able to race in the pro ranks at both the WTC and Challenge races I am targetting. I have some new sponsors I am really looking forward to working with, I'll do more writing over the winter season possibly also for some tri and fitness publications and am also looking forward to training with teammates from my club, TMT, using and extending my French.

Additionally I have started working to establish a new business and have some really exciting plans to unveil shortly. Stay tuned! In order to do all this of course I need to focus on the last of this year's goals yet to be achieved and so I am back at school learning French 5 days a week.

To set these goals I needed to have my energy back and my head and heart clear or otherwise I would likely set unrealistic goals (as not carefully enough considered or discussed with others) or goals that would not stretch me as fully as is realistic and achievable.

So here I am 6 weeks on and enjoying my latest challenge of learning a new language. I won't pretend I am back to 100% tiggerishness at all times, as I have moments of needing to go back a pace and rest, relax or reprioritise. Generally though I am feeling ready for my next adventure...or three!

Enjoy yours.
A bientot