Curing Stress with "Whitespace"

If you have to rush to finish the current task because there is another waiting right behind it, and this is how your whole day goes, you have created a very stressful environment.  I say that "you have created a very stressful environment" because you have created the situation, not somebody else.

It's your own fault by saying "yes" to too many things.  Now, if one single thing goes wrong, everything after it gets screwed up.  If you have to stop at one extra red light, you'll be late to pick up your kids, then you'll be too rushed to call your spouse, and then you spouse won't know that the plumber called to say he will be there at 11 AM instead of 9 AM, and on and on.  You have to live in a constant mode of fear and time-checking, and that's terrible for you and those around you. 

The real indicator of whether you are stressed too much is if you have your to-do's held together by a delicate and thin lifeline of anxiety and pressure.  That's bad.  Really bad.  Now think about the opposite lifestyle, where you actually have the time to do things well and enjoy them.  Sound better?

A great bike ride happens when you don't have to rush out the door, forgetting to pack half your fuel, air up your tires, and check the weather to discover there is a squall coming in 30 minutes.  Stress makes you drop the ball in little ways over and over again because you can't afford to take the time to pay attention.  Those details add up to causing even more problems than if you did fewer tasks better in the first place.

I will cover the art of saying "no" to clean up your schedule in a future post/podcast.  In the meantime, the first thing to do is realize if this describes your own situation.  If it does, you will find huge value in slowing down enough to make sure you aren't jumping from one task to the next.  The "whitespace" you can create between tasks allows you to think a little bit before you do them.  When you can plan and think before and during your execution, you stop forgetting little details that end up causing even more stress in your already crammed schedule.

Podcast - ZenTri 507 - Texas Trails 50 Mile Trail Run

Click here to download or play the show.

I race the Texas Trails 50 Mile Endurance Run, a 50 mile trail race in Huntsville, Tx.  Also, I discuss Chrissie Wellington's retirement, how to improve your body position in swimming, and much more.

Yfrog and Squarespace don't play nice for embedding, so you'll need to click here to see the video of the race start.  And click here to see a video of me running at 25 miles.  Enjoy!

Brett's Tips for Faster Recovery

Faster recovery is key to having a great time in endurance sports.  Less time in pain and on the couch means more living!  Case in point - I raced the Texas Trails Endurance 50 mile trail run on Saturday. In a day's time, I was able to have a nice jog around my neighborhood in the cool evening weather to check out all the Christmas lights.  Here's how you can do the same:

1. Don't do races that you aren't ready for. If you aren't running 50 miles in an entire week, why in the world would you try to run it in one day?  Know your limits!
2. Eat by feel for at least the next day.  If you crave it, your body is telling you that you need it.
3. Elevate your legs when you can.  This helps them feel better faster.
4. If you are driving or flying home, make sure to get up and move around every hour. Prolonged sitting stiffens you up and can even lead to blood clots.
5. Sprinkle a little extra salt on your food and drinks.  This helps water "stick" to your body better and rehydrate you.
6. Fruits and veggies are loaded with healing nutrition. Make those readily available and try to snack on them instead of other foods.
7. Put Ibuprofin in your recovery bag.  Being in less pain helps you make better decisions and able to take care of yourself.
8. Caffeine post-race will make you more alert and give you the energy boost to make better decisions about what you eat and do.
9. Don't wreck yourself in the race.  There's healthy and then there's destructive.  Races are like buses; there's another one coming along in 5 minutes.
10. Stamina takes time. Tempering steel takes thousands of strikes to change it from soft to strong.  If you aren't where you want to be yet, the only answer is "more time."  Keep at it!

When I first did a similar 50 miler several years ago, I finished in the worst pain of my life.  And I was a total wreck for many days afterwards.  The difference between now and then is amazing.  Try those tips and share your own in the comments!

Results from the race here.

HR, speed, elevation and more of my race numbers here.

How to Hack Your Bad Days into Good Ones

Some days are just terrible.  You get in a bad mood, there is not enough time, and you feel like crap.  Why?  The best way to figure out how to avoid bad days is to analyze what made your good days so good and repeat that.  What makes a day great is actually a combination of factors over the previous couple of days:

• Stress (arguing, traffic, significant other, too much to do.)
• Caffeine (gives you artificial energy that you have to pay for later.)
• Travel (causes even more stress.)
• Exercise (intensity and/or duration.)
• Food (type and volume.)
• Sleep.

Keep a daily log of these factors and you will start to see a pattern.  The pattern reveals the problem, and now you can start working of fixing the real issue.

Podcast - ZenTri 506 - Swim with Coach Brackin

Click here to download or play the show!

(Click here or on the image above to see Coach Brett's swimming video)

Former University of Texas swim coach Kim Brackin gives detailed tips on swim technique. We interview her by the side of an Endless Pool in Austin, TX. Also, we begin talking about how to train by feel.

Important links:

Brackin Elite Swim Training

Rich Roll's new podcast

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