Saturday, April 27, 2013

Alone time ...

"... Whatever it takes, just take that alone time, take that time to get your head around the enormity of the task you’ve got coming up, and realize that this is a selfish endeavor, and it’s going to call on you and you only, and no matter all the fluff you have around, it’s great to have there, but when the gun goes, it’s you versus you, so you need to get your head around that and get comfortable with that voice in your head that you’re going to face on the race course and that voice is basically going to tell you that this isn’t for them, and it wants to stop and you need to be prepared for that battle because it’s a tough one to fight." by Macca, triathlon-training, on youtube
Happy training and racing.
--- Kjell

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Coaching

As a former Professional Athlete and coach/mentor I am always amazed at why athletes choose their coaches. There are so many times that I would love to ask.

From what I have seen, the two biggest factors as to why an athlete chooses a coach are:

#1 - What the coach has accomplished as an athlete.

#2 - Who that coach is affiliated with.

While I can definitely see the sex appeal of going with someone who has raced at a high level, or knows the best of the best. Is this a sure bet that they are a good coach? Most definitely not.

Sometimes you get a great coach and a great athlete bundled into one, but most of the time this isn't the case.

For me, here are the qualities at the top of my list in a coach:

1) Communication. If I can't get a hold of my coach when I need to, things aren't going to work. I can create or find a training plan anywhere, this really isn't coaching.

2) Experience. Not as an athlete, but with other athletes who are of the same ability of where I currently am and where I want to be. Are they racing well? All of the above need to be a yes.

3) Education. I don't want to just blindly follow a plan. I want to know about the why. So a coach who can educate me while training me, is also important.

4) Open Minded. Different strokes for different folks. The same plan for a 140lb guy and a 190lb guy won't work. Does my coach recognize this?

5) Mental Consideration. Does the coach plan my training around what I thrive on and enjoy, or is it strictly one way. The coach needs to observe and listen to each athlete.

So my question to all of you is WHY do you choose the coach you have?

by: Blake Becker 

Very well said! --- Kjell

Saturday, April 13, 2013

I did in many ways

"You have to leave the city of your comfort
and
go into the wilderness of your intuition." - Alan Alder
--- Kjell

Saturday, April 06, 2013

Amerika

This is great!
Do not take this to serious. Rammstein "Amerika"
--- Kjell