By Choice

Rides, spins and leaves

It was our choice. We rode inside this damp and dark Sunday. Ninety minutes worth of steady-state low intensity cardio. The movie that I picked as entertainment as we rode was old, silly and, at times, painful to watch. Despite some eye-rolling groans, sucking of teeth and general malaise, it was time well spent. If you want to see a movie and be entertained, inspired or challenged, go spend ten bucks and sit on your butt mindlessly ramming stale popcorn. However should you choose to burn a thousand calories, increase your endurance and prepare yourself for future rides where enjoyment and adventure overcomes a sore fanny, tired muscles and lack of endurance, you must, we must, we must all, adhere to the three pillars of cycling improvement:

1) High Intensity intervals. We preform many variations on this training theme every time we meet in the club for spin class. It is a perfect environment outfitted with the tools necessary for safe and reliable improvement while a peloton of peers provides camaraderie and accountability. We do them three times per week.

2) Sub-threshold steady-state. We call them 2x20s and they are the silver to the gold of the HIT standard outlined above. One must know one’s FTP, functional threshold power, number, as measured by watts, and then execute 85% (the sub) twice for twenty minutes with a five minute break between. We use a combination of CompuTrainer and Wahoo Kickr smart trainers for this drill which we preform at least two times per week in the early evening.

3) The final format required of cyclists, triathletes and literally anyone wanting dramatic improvement on their current state of cycling acumen - or general good health and optimum fitness - is the routine affectionately known as the long steady distance. You simply must stretch it out, reduce power and find your groove-zone efficiency level necessary for a successful long-ish ride or run. We traditionally do rides outside in a group on the weekends, often stopping for coffee and and a snack along the route. Ninety minutes to three hours is the accepted standard.

If you are serious about upping your cycling game these are the three tried and true standards. This time of year, our rain got here a touch earlier than expected, the clubs cycling center and our facility, The PowerBarn offer indoor options.

Next week I will pick the cinematic entertainment with a little more finesse. But the idea remains the same; Sit, spin, endure, find the sweet-spot and search for the dynamic flow-state that will push you past your current comfort zone and well into another. A meme I saw today sums this nicely:

You’ll never know what you are capable of until you leave your comfort zone by choice or by force.

Let’s go by choice.

Lackluster Results?

I took a quick inventory of my current projects yesterday afternoon. After the grading and analysis it is apparent, at least to me, that there is room for improvement with every one of them. This assessment reinforced what I already knew, that the quality of each project can be, SHOULD be, upgraded. From the video I shot (in auto focus), the blog post I authored (the experimental three paragraph short-story), the workout (a very decent 2x20 set), the dinner I cooked (lentil soup with leftover curried rice, tuna and tomatoes from my dear neighbors garden) to the research study (I should be talking more notes) and the restless sleep causing an additional midnight read, they all share one common trait. That the process, the attention to detail and the attitude of present moment relaxed focus is the goal - not the destination as finished product. THAT will take care of itself, and be of high quality as long as each step of the way is taken with honor, respect, joy and presence. This is exemplified by a coach’s comment I heard yesterday suggesting to the swimmers hanging on the deck at 0500 swim practice that they should all ‘be grateful that you have something in your life so important that you are willing to get up at 0430 to do.’ I love that. Because it is so perfect, so real, genuine and 100% authentic. 

The same inspiration gifted to the lucky high school swimmers is the same one I considered yesterday as I sometimes frustratingly fumbled with camera, word processor, drill motor, stationary bike and spatula. Be thankful and be present. Appreciate the ride. Keep your focus and relax into this step of the journey. Run THIS mile. You cannot start and finish at the same time, there is that middle that must be traversed, endured, traveled, experienced and negotiated. The harder the climb, the deeper and more treacherous the potholes and pratfalls, the more satisfaction and value the completion of your trip will have. Songs are written about this, novels penned and movies made. This is where love lives. Our destinies lie somewhere between our first steps and our last, yet, perhaps paradoxically, each step is its own epiphany. Whatever you are doing right now (or what you will return to after reading this) put everything that you are into it. Smile on it, sweat on it and bleed on it. It becomes you. 

I am back at it today, picking up where I left off. All my projects are waiting patiently. The video will see addition by subtraction as I start the process known as the tighten up. Looks at this point that I will meet the formatting requirement requested by the three paragraph short story concept, we killed an hour of power in the club this morning and I have a Newman's Own frozen pizza ready for the afternoon college football entertainment. Arguably most important is the research from last night has added another layer of complexity to the screenplay, one I was hoping to find and fill a sequential passage of important time (1942 - 1945). I am happy being a productive guy. Despite yesterday’s lackluster test results. Or quite possibly because of them. 

Easy as Pie

I again demonstrate the technique. It is, I add, as easy as pie. Yet anyone who has spent time in the kitchen actually creating one, knows the unique challenge and demands required for success. This paradox, the easy and its demands, are the extrinsic objects referenced. The subjects are us. The strategy is to keep centered, balanced and joyful in the present moment. The tactic is a practice we call the trigger.

The group I am addressing on this rather esoteric technique are my staff. They are Filipino and Mauritian. We are working on a government contract on a remote and isolated island in the Indian Ocean. Our job is to maintain the moral, welfare and recreational opportunities for the military men and women assigned to the base. It is not an easy job but it could be if we all buy into the premise that our enthusiasm, attitude and dedication will be infectious if practiced relentlessly and with sincerity. Excellence is after all, a habit.

The trigger, I continue, is this: We all know what is expected of us and that many times this demand, coupled with our sporadic homesickness, the long hours, the sometimes uncomfortable working conditions and the loneliness of an unaccompanied overseas assignment, gets us down. This emotion left unattended will grow and affect others. Starting today, right now, when we pass each other on the street, in the mess-hall, at the ships store, on the ballfields or during a change of command ceremony, give your teammate a salute, the one we call a trigger, by taking your right hand and pinching your right earlobe. This simple action will trigger the memory of our mission, reestablish the connection between us all, and remind us to stay present in this powerful moment in history. This will be our namaste, honoring the spirit inside us all. I think if we can do this often enough, with as many of our team as possible we stand the chance of changing the entire atmosphere of our work place and in turn create an environment of excellence through service.

I finish with another demonstration and dismiss the group, they respond enthusiastically so I add, ‘easy as pie.’

The Caravan Moves Along

Paradox, Humor & Change in a single shot

The research, at some point, must end. In order for the actual creation, the path forward, to begin. There is a natural connection between the two as all artists, athletes or writers understand. A football player of sufficient capacity to actively seek challenge, works his tight-end off in order to improve his skills to the point of testing them against the best competition available. This research, our practice and the subsequent testing in real-time live action is the juice. It is the point. Practice, prepare, research, study, grow and test.

Dan Millman in his seminal series, The Peaceful Warrior, had his alter ego protagonist, Socrates suggest to his student that while artists must be concerned with design, color and texture, while writers (or their editors)  must know grammar, punctuation and syntax, and while doctors must be well-versed in anatomy, auto immune systems and disease prevention, the peaceful warrior, the truly enlightened human-in-training, must be aware of them all. “You practice gymnastics, I practice everything,” he once reminded young Danny.

Once the gymnast, painter or smash-hit songwriter has paid sufficient homage to the basics, absorbed the inspiration of masters who have gone before and rehearsed the skills required until fingers bleed, eyes redden and muscles ache, she is ready to create. And create she must!

It is time to take the leap. Jump into the fire. Dare to create something new instead of rehashing the old, stale and obsolete. It is time, quoting Socrates again, to stop gathering information from the outside and start compiling it from the inside.

Have the courage to get it out and get it down. Let go of the limitations you place on yourself, the self-doubts, fears of failure or an obtuse warning from a society who finds it easier to criticize than to support. Invoke the swoosh and Just Do It.

That sacred journey, the one with the catchy cliche of its intimidating distance of a thousand miles starting with the first step, is, in my opinion, incomplete. I say this because it has been my experience that the journey, and especially that precious initial step in its direction, actually starts with a series of stumbles. The journey of a thousand miles begins with falling down, miserably failing, repairing broken noses, arms and hearts and having the fortitude to rise up and carry on, this time with the prerequisite of the wisdom born of empirical defeat. Losing hurts, I agree, but as the nomads say, ‘dogs bark but the caravan moves along.’  Learn the lessons of defeat.

Practice, practice practice. Practice everything.

And then go out and play the game.

We Have the Room

“Because the more I promote myself the more value I have to you.’ 

That was my response after a somewhat terse exchange with ‘management’ regarding my use of product placement in the video. The conversation came about as questions arose about the amount, frequency and placement of logos, images, mentions or outright testimonies of the PowerBarn, sponsors of the ten day journey, captured on video and in production for premiere showing at the gym, we call it an athletic club, where I am a indoor cycling instructor. I also happen to be the owner, head facilitator and CEO and janitor of the aforementioned PowerBarn, an indoor cycle training facility once housed at the club. Conflict of interest or one big happy family? 

Borrowing from an outstanding article on the modern marketing practice of seeing and selling abundance rather than scarcity (measured by share of market and the potential for additional share in new markets, created by forward thinking professionals) I asked of myself the appropriate response to the standard fear-based questions. Is the pie so small that we cannot expand past current options? Is this it, no more growth, expansion, tests or product demonstrations? This is the formula, the model and the recipe all wrapped into one without the possibility of experimental deviation? 

Take a 2,700 mile road trip in a branded SAG vehicle, strap your bike to the rack, toss a dart in the direction of adventure, invite your friends and film whatever happens along the rugged coastal route (cosmically suggested by that dart.) Make a video of the event. Present the video to your clients and club members as an inspirational, joyous and entertaining hour-long spin session. 

While not exactly by a mile, it is definitely outside of the box. It is different, new, timely and important. Anything related to extending the health and fitness of any demographic in any location is important. Obesity is the now the number one cause of death for Americans having recently passed heart disease as public health enemy numero uno. I am sponsoring a ten thousand dollar bucket-list trip and the subsequent documentary video as a way to attract more people to our health-fitness-training-adventure paradigm and your first question is about the number of times my logo appears in the film? 

That hurts. 

I spent the better part of last night working the issue, trying to validate my unease and deep sadness in the initial response of the executive task force at the club who seemed to be wanting both the cake and its consumption too. From a ‘fine, we’ll go elsewhere with our little happiness doc,’ to ‘whatever,’ I compared the options. I feel obliged to stand firm on editorial content, this is mine. But it would be pretty easy to soften the promotional spots and add their logo a few times. We can negotiate a happy medium. I don’t need to add any additional stress to an already compromised relationship. I would like this to last and all I need to make that happen and get a shot at a second try, is to fill the room with twenty-four butts on twenty-four bikes. Not exactly like selling out Benaroya Hall for Sunday afternoon matinee. 

We get to the gist, the down and dirty, the bottom line of the heart of the matter. I can say no, play the indignant card, resist, fight, never say die and walk away. Pride, honor and loyalty to independent filmmakers everywhere intact. I can maintain the integrity of my content, dream, idea, intellectual property and copyright. I can win. 

Or I can see the bigger picture and relent, make it happen, compromise a happy medium agreement and check my ego at the door. I can win. 

It strikes me as odd that the protection of a brand includes the rejection of another, like there is just this one cake and we need every crumb. Another can never be baked? In thinking this through from flour, to dough to fully-baked presentation, a delicious idea satiates my gourmand tendencies and I ask of the cook:

“Does not our appetite come through eating?’ 

The more cakes that we bake, pies that we serve and healthy opportunities we create, the greater the chances that we will attract more people to our table. 

The more I promote myself the more value I have to you. 

We have the room.

We ARE the Whole

There comes a time when all our practice (and practice and practice) needs to be put into play. In Zen circles this translates into, roughly, the idea that no moments exist outside the sphere of the now. Practice wrapping your head around that zinger! A deeper interpretation could also suggest that there is no separation between our practice and our subsequent response to outside stimuli, events, circumstances or what we casually sometimes refer to as the sitrep. Situation report.

A sitrep most often asks of the observer (us) to relay intel on the observed (everything else). Are bombs dropping around us? Are we bracing for hurricane force winds? Is the level of discrimination at critical mass? Are we choking on polluted air and fouled water? Are our elected leaders taking the higher moral ground or enriching their heirs and business associates at our expense? Are we reeling from some extrinsic comment made by someone struggling with their own issues?

That is our practice. This is it and the time is now. It is exactly the intersection of our expanding, compassionate awareness and the reality of a world gone mad from toxic exposure to runaway capitalism. If you harbor any remaining doubt as to the veracity of this image, standing in the rain with thousand dollar umbrellas for sale across the street, consider the ironic hypocrisy of war.

Our practice is to seek truth, to practice peace in all its myriad forms and to find ways and means to put kindness into play. After a lifetime of contemplation I can honestly say that the goal of this game is not to hoard resources, stockpile tax-free cash or bully others into religious fanaticism. The lust for power is a greedy gaming of every religious ideology ever devised. Do unto others?

And so, as the rain turns acidic and reeks with the foul propaganda of hate, we carry on. We practice with awareness and empathy. We remain that single beacon of light flashing a warning signal through the storm of racism, narcissism and bigotry. It is the good fight. DO NOT SURRENDER.

It is also a fight that we must win. A must have game with stakes as high as ever a game could have. Our planet is literally on fire with the official response something about boarder control, guns in teachers top drawers, women’s bodies and gay marriage. Rome, Georgia is burning but Beyonce sings on.

There is no remaining doubt that by changing a part of the whole, one changes the whole. This simple fact of physics provides us with hope, as each change, by even a single atomic particle, either augments or diminishes the entirety of eternity. Is that enough of everything for your consideration?

One might react with an aggressive counter to these atrocities with a violent response, throw rocks at the castle and storm the gates. As much as I trust that this won’t, it could. A better solution, accepting the fact that it should happen, is a two-fold attack utilizing the immense power of united peace.

1) Practice peace in the form of loving kindness. This is gold. Change your part of the whole.
2) Vote. This is blue. And green. We are the whole.

We ARE the whole.

Number One?

Number One

All of this comes as a result of dealing with loss. Specifically, I refer to the most trivial of losses, that of a college football team. Let us be clear on the fact that there has never been a college football team in the 150 year history of this current version of the college football association that has never lost a game. No Tide, Tigers, Canes, Aggies, Terps, Vikings, Middies or Sooners are currently riding the crest of an undefeated all-time record. Everybody has lost. And lost a lot. After a century and a half, many teams are struggling to get back to .500, winning as many of their games as they have lost. That is a lot of losing.

One would think that with his level of reality we, as fans, alumni, sponsors, or simply family and friends, would be used to it by now. Seriously, 150 (years) x 12 (ave. games per season) x 100 (ave. number of teams) pencils out to be (plus or minus and give or take) around 180,000 flips of the coin. Out of 15 games last season my team lost 3 of them. Not bad, eh?

Not apparently good (enough) either.

We hold our teams to a higher standard, expecting roughly 50 young men between the ages of 18 and 22, to unite in a common objective and deliver the glow under which we can bask as non-participatory team mates. That way we can all share in the victory, the success, the pride, the bragging rights, the adulation of our peers and the envy of our foes. That is the good news - when we win.

But what about when we don’t?

Saturday night at Husky Stadium in Seattle we hosted the Cal Bears for the first conference game of the Pac-12 season. They throttled our offense last year and bludgeoned their way to an improbable 12-10 win. And the fit hit the shan, and flew south, in a pear-shaped, big-assed hurry. A season ending catastrophic laying of the rotted egg. Resulting in misery, suffering, depression and record sales of fortified liquor. Husky Nation, well versed in the world of pain and suffering, was aghast, agog and appalled.

Interestingly, the planet Earth continued to spin on its axis and, after a few days of doom and gloom, we all returned to, more or less, normalcy. With one important feather added to the cap we call experience.

We were now faced with dealing with the fallout, learning from our mistakes and moving on, looking at the present to determine the trajectory of future events. In other words, we were about to undertake the most important test any kid, coach, parent or fan can take. Learning the lessons that only show after losing.

How DID that happen? And more urgently, WHAT are we going to do about it? Are we going to mope, assign blame, concoct excuses (such as the almost three hour weather delay) and point fingers - or assume the responsibility of initiating change of a magnitude powerful enough to move back to - and past - the levels of our united competency before the aforementioned fit hitting the nightmarish shan?

Or not. Some never recover from the shock of being shown to be made of slightly less power than a Marvel Superhero. What a jolt to the ego of Captain America to lose in the last minute to whatever adversary wants him taken down. Nobody ever chants We WERE Number One.

Please don’t get me wrong, having an ego, playing with an attitude and showing swagger are all important components of champions.

As are humility, a type A work ethic and the unwavering commitment to continual improvement.

Where do we go from here? We have options and we can choose. I was reminded just before 0200 Sunday morning that this is one of the main reasons I always provide to explain my love for the college game. Because these kids are prone to making mistakes. My great joy is in watching them err and immediately get coached up. Identify the flaw, mistake or omission, correct it, practice the enhancement and then get back out there and try it again, with hopefully a different result.

Certainly losing hurts. It is painful and depressing. Nobody goes into a game wanting to lose. If you enter a contest trying NOT to lose, it may be a fait accompli. Play fast, play hard, play with attitude and play loose. Relax into your power and trust both your training and the dedication of your team mates. There is no shame in losing.

There is in not learning the lessons from it.