Spring into Action

Robbie Ventura, Vision Quest Coaching Founder and Owner

Spring! Whether you’re a weekend warrior or training for an Ironman, something about springtime triggers all of us to action. The outdoors are beckoning!

Some of us have kept up our activity levels all winter, some of us are now refocusing our efforts for our 2016 targets. Personally, I often need somethingto get me pointed in the right direction for the year and early season activities do that job for me. No matter what your goals might be, here are a handfulof important things to think about as you embark on your 2016 season.

1.Surround yourself with positive people that believe in you as much as, if not more than, you believe in yourself. I cannot talk enough about havingthe right group of training partners. Their abilities are not as important as their attitudes and support. Make sure to find training partners who arewilling to work hard, stay positive and be supportive--people who will bring you up when you’re down and encourage you to be better than you think youcan be.

2.Focus on the process of improving, not the place you want to get in your race. The result will take care of itself. Focus on the process that will getyou to the goal: nutrition, recovery, your weekly training routine, cycling, swimming and running economy, bike-handling skills, your pre-race plan, warm-up,etc. You will find enjoyment in the process of improvement when you focus on improving all of these things. You will feel better, look better, performbetter and have a high that only comes with the feeling of improvement.

3.Understand that improvement is not linear. It comes in waves and often, not the way we plan it out. Our bodies are all different and we respond differentlyand at different times. Dialing in to how you respond is part of the mystery of improvement. It is not often consistent, nor perfectly predictable. Knowingit will happen if you train right and rest enough is the key. When improvement does come, make sure to acknowledge it and get excited every time it happens.It is so important to measure often in order to catch these increases in fitness and skill.\

4.Challenge yourself in sport and life. I believe that we all need challenges that push our mental and physical limits at times. We need to be uncomfortableto really grow and the rewards that come with that growth are worth the times spent in discomfort. The key is to become comfortable with that discomfortand, believe it or not, to enjoy that pain to some degree. Once we can accept the difficulties that come with training, we find a whole new world of fitnessthat comes from pushing past some of the old pain barriers. I would be remiss if I did not say that with deep pain deep recovery is also needed and thatmeans more sleep, more downtime and more rest than ever before. Get this right and soar to new heights for sure!

So good luck to everyone no matter what the target and I hope to see you on the road!

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