Now I don’t usually post much personal stuff but today I’ll mix it up a little for you.

It’s been a busy season and I have made some serious progress. My running is finally where I need it to be and although it could be better I know that I can be competitive on the run now. This did take time with a lot of focus on my running form and some help from Saucony getting me into the right shoes. Finding a mid-foot strike, increasing my strike rate, reducing contact time and lifting my knees higher were all part of how I set out to get running faster.

On a competitive note, most recently I competed in the Cape Town leg of the BSG Energade Triathlon Series held at Brandvlei in Worcester. I raced in the elite category and realised that racing elite is another ball game altogether. The gap between the slowest elite and fastest age group racer is quite significant. Having said that however, I do personally feel that that gap is 80% experience. With more racing and perhaps more opportunity, there are several age group athletes that could make the jump. Unfortunately, being a sport that does not involve a ball, there is not much support or opportunity. It would be good to see a mentorship programme established. I have no idea what that involves though so it may just be wishful thinking.

Finishing the run at BSG Energade - Image: Chris Hitchcock

As far as my race at Brandvlei went, I lost the pack from the start. My swim splits would suggest that I can exit the water with the big guns, but I guess that swimming alone or with 2 or 3 other guys at the front of an age group race is not ideal preparation for setting off at the frantic pace set by the elite athletes. Unusually for me, the run was the best part of my race and although I did have the second slowest run split, I was only a few seconds (less than 10) off the pace of a seasoned elite triathlete, which was fairly comforting.

As for now, I have only been doing pilates, surfing and some gardening. I do plan on setting things back in motion soon but there is no date or any specific intensity level set. Right now, I find it fairly comforting to know that things will happen as they need to.

See you all soon, if not before Christmas, please enjoy and be safe.

As time goes by most people don’t even realise how caught up they are in their daily rituals, which they themselves have become.  Stuck in a rut, the comfort zone, you name it, we have all been there and most of us are more than likely in that space right now. Indeed it is a safe place to be when work has got you down. Your daily routine may only differ as your fridge empties out.

In some cases, we are more than happy to be in our comfort zone; however there are other things you’d rather be doing, right? Unfortunately a comfort zone has the same learning curve as a door stop. Step outside once in a while. Find your passion and watch your success grow. To get something you’ve never had, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done.

Passion is a formidable ally in developing the enthusiasm which creates success. Passion drives us towards our dreams and enthusiasm keeps us smiling along the way. If you’ve had a bad day it is your passion that can take out of that deflated state.

Do something that gives you goose bumps; something that awakens the butterflies from their slumber. Whatever it is, just get out there, make the most of it and make it happen.

Three words:

Passion

Enthusiasm

Success

I want to know what you ache for,

and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,

for your dreams, and for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow,

if you have been opened by life’s betrayals,

or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,

without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own;

If you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you

to the tips of your fingers and toes, without cautioning us to be careful,

be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true,

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself,

if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it is not pretty every day,

and if you can source your life from God’s presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine,

And still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver moon, “Yes!”

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have,

I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair,

weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you are, how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand at the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,

and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer – Indian Elder

Having always been somewhat of a spiritual person I have sought interest in the many paths, be it religious by definition or simply self development.

My latest spiritual venture is the Art of Living, founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravishankar. Widely regarded as the enlightened being of this millennium, Sri Sri Ravishankar is changing the world. His teachings have touched countless lives, including my own.

Our minds are bombarded with a plethora of messages glazed on top of old impressions, stress and anger.

We shower to keep our bodies clean. But what do we do for our minds? The teachings of Sri Sri brings the mind back to its source; a state of blissful and peaceful divinity.

This is achieved through ancient breathing techniques, meditation and Ayurvedic sciences. All of which were around long before any religion existed.

Just to give you an idea, Sudarshan Kriya is one of the breathing techniques which is included as part of this all.

“It incorporates specific natural rhythms of the breath which harmonize the rhythm of the body, mind, and emotions and brings them in tune with the rhythm of nature. Thereby, eliminating stress, fatigue, and negative emotions such as anger, frustration, and depression; leaving you calm yet energized, focused yet relaxed.

Breath is the link between the body and the mind. You can use the breath as an effective and quick stress relief technique. Millions of people from all walks of life have been touched by the healing power of the Sudarshan Kriya, including individuals of all religions.

Nature is replete with various rhythms and cycles – day follows night, night follows day, seasons come and go. Similarly, there are biological rhythms in our body, mind, and emotions. When these rhythms are in sync, we have a sense of harmony and well-being.”

Although I do not practice these techniques as often as I should I can certainly note the positive effects it has had on my life and those around me.

If you can open your mind up to this ancient knowledge, most of which forms the basis of all religions misinterpreted through cultural and language barriers, then I suggest you give the Art of Living Part 1 course a go.

It will change your life for the best, regardless of your religion, beliefs or even disbeliefs.

An injury can be a traumatic time for an athlete when returning to full fitness becomes a waiting game. The lack of control and the uncertainty can get the athlete feeling depressed and anxious.

There can be 5 stages involved in the injury process:

• Denial and Isolation – Refusal to recognise the injury
• Anger
• Bargaining – I will do anything (Willing to risk further injury just to compete)
• Depression
• Acceptance

This process can vary in several ways depending on the seriousness of the injury and the personality of the athlete.

Although not competing in the physical aspect of the sport relative to the specific injury, the athlete can use that time to focus on other aspects of the sport.

One of the biggest things in injury recovery is goal setting. These goals need to involve objective measures. Graded sport specific movements can be replicated in several ways which will contribute to rehabilitation. These activities mean that the athlete starts by performing basic sport specific drills with no contact and slowly progresses towards to full fitness.

On the other hand is the mental side of recovery. Visualisation should be employed in ensuring that the athlete is not only physically ready to return to competing, but also mentally. Fear of re-injury can range from mild concern to maladaptive psychological disorders and outcomes. Visualisation involves three processes.

Emotional Visualisation creates internal states of positivity. By using past success and/or ideal future outcomes these states can be achieved. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Become completely relaxed.  Allow your mind to drift back to one of your best sporting performances.  Rather than being in that race, become a spectator witnessing your amazing performance. Pay attention to every visual detail of the experience. Be wowed by your very own performance.

Physical Visualisation allows you to recreate the sport specific movements without moving a muscle. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Become relaxed and notice the physical sensations of your mechanic as if you were competing, paying attention to how each of your technical actions physically feels whilst adding sight, sound and taste elements.

Fast Healing Visualisation allows you to catalyse the healing process. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Become completely relaxed. Drift towards the injured part of your body and shine a bright magical light on that body part. Feel it healing you. Feel that part becoming stronger. Notice how the pain subsides.

Do all of this with a smile on your face!

One day,someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her: “‘Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?’

The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn’t expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: “Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for  before they were yours, they were mine.”

What do you value most? How far are you willing to go for the one’s you love? It is easy to display affection. However undeserved privliages can cloud our vision. Love deeply and receive graciously.

Wake up, get dressed, go to work, ask yourself: “WHY?” Work some more. Go home. Arrive home irritated because the traffic was not to your liking, eat dinner, and relax for a short while. Sleep. And start over. Rinse and repeat.

Not being my idea of fun, I pursued a lifestyle change; one that would allow me to come and go as I please. Doing what I enjoy and being able to experience those beautiful summer days that always seem to occupy every Monday of December, January and February.

As of March 2010 I will be required to work 20 flexible hours per week as a marketing specialist. I love marketing. It’s dynamic and exciting however I cannot spend five sevenths of my life doing it. That may be slightly dramatised but it’s strange how 24%, which represents your 40 hour work week, can feel like five sevenths, or 71%.

So 20 hours would equate to 12% of my week. I will spend 12% of my week as a marketing specialist. But let’s look a little closer at what it means for me to be able to spread those 20 hours per week as I see fit?

Firstly I will not need to sit in traffic. That cuts out up to 1 hour per day. Secondly I can work all 20 hours into 2 or 3 days if necessary, saving the rest of my week for pursing the opportunities that will present themselves as I meet and interact with more people thanks to extra mobility.

Currently I am working 8.5 hours per day which includes my lunch break. So work time is therefore 7.5 hours.  However commuting is around an hour and therefore from home and back to home again I am unable to pursue anything within an 8.5 hour period. My estimated daily duration from March will be around 4.5 hours per day. Now that is slightly higher than half of what I am doing but since I am still confined to lunch within a given window, and include travelling in that I have a 9.5 hour day. Suddenly I’ve gone from 53% to 47%. That’s a 6% difference which means I gain 34 minutes and 12 seconds per day and earn 6% more per hour.

Suddenly I have more time and more money. It’s not a huge difference but the results speak for themselves. And all this happened within the space of a 10min conversation. Not so bad from a progress perspective.

Now most of you might be thinking, “Yes sure you’re working half day now but that means you are earning half of what you used too?” This is indeed true. However now I am able to apply these same principals to my new venture, Triathlon Coaching. I get to be outdoors, do what I love. Priceless? Not quite. My earning potential has increased by 150%.

“After all, mobility and time is the wealth of the new rich. Being mobile presents opportunities. Having time allows one to pursue those opportunities.” – Inspired by Tim Ferris, author of the 4 Hour Work Week

Here’s one last thought for you:

Now that you have identified what you don’t want to do, it’s time to define what it is you would like to do. Rather than broadly summarise your ambitions, define your goals!

If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly, and pray the Lord your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss, and call you back for just one more.

So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear,
That you love them very much, and you’ll always hold them dear.
Take time to say “I’m sorry,” “Please forgive me,” “thank you” or “it’s okay”.
And if tomorrow never comes, you’ll have no regrets about today.

By Norma Marek