Minimalist Mind, Powerful Triathlete
Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 9:33PM
It's hard to gain a clear mind, even just a clear goal, when your thoughts are everywhere. Most triathletes work out in a zombie-like state. Go to gym, get on bike, pedal for two hours at 80% of threshold, eat brains...
You think like a zombie because your thoughts are scattered all over the place. You're thinking about dinner later, what your boss said to you last week, that car wreck three years ago. You have thousands of thoughts a day, 90% of them repeats of previous ones. Not very useful, huh? Notice all those are thoughts about the past or future. Things that you can't change or may never happen.
All this extra mental baggage doesn't help you work out. The ZenTri approach is to cut all the excess crap out. If you don't need it, ditch it. And if you do need it, use it until you don't need it anymore.
I recently posted on Twitter that workout software is overrated. Notice that I didn't say, "It doesn't work." It does work. It works great. But it takes extra time, time you could be working out, and those workouts could make you better than the software did. Once the software gets you training better, get back on the real stuff. Move on. Let go.
I am here to tell you that there is a fun, self-empowering side to triathlon. It's the part where you learn to be a better you. One of the first steps is discarding what you don't need. You don't need six bikes. You don't need tubular tires. You don't need the latest wetsuit. You do need a supporting environment and some clarity.
This will be a multi-part post. Next week I will describe how to start going minimalist to clear up the mind and make some real progress in your training.
Reader Comments (1)
I am enjoying your minimalist-clear-mind stuff. Keep it coming. Your food and nutrition strategies have helped me minimize and simplify, too. Dates and walnuts are my new favorite training food; easier to find at the grocery store and cheaper than buying gels. I squeeze an orange and add some sea salt for my sports drink - takes a few extra minutes to prepare, but I don't have to make a trip to a special store and saves $$$. I am training for a 1/2 IM and feel great.