Be Different

The first time I heard it was during Larry Nolan's presentation to the USA Deaf Cycling Team for the World Deaf Cycling Championships at San Francisco, CA in 2006.

Did it register to me immediately? Yes and No. I understood it but I didn't understand the depth of that statement.

Let me give you a bit of history about Larry Nolan then we'll get to the point.

Larry has won 7 UCI world titles (all masters track) and 34 USAC national titles (1 masters crit, 33 masters track).

His 1 km and 3km pursuit time are much quicker than when he was 35 years old. He's 50 now.

Sure, he's naturally gifted but his commitment to the training plan is amazing AND he does it mostly through the means of commuting.

Here's what Larry had to say few months ago:

Yes, I get a majority of my miles through commuting (year-round) and I love that fact for a variety of reasons:
- I live in silicon valley where traffic is horrible. In some ways I save time commuting, espcially when its raining
- why be in a car when you can be outside
- I live in California where the weather is pretty darned great.
- Gas prices are not going down
- we have a shower at work
- My 34km commute that takes me over the bay and through some good winds too
- 34km is an ideal distance for me. (1 to 1-1/2 hours)
- BUT, I can always add more miles by joining a morning group (2-1/2 hours)- I suspect your athlete will need to do the same to get the intensity in!

optimizing the commute- somedays are easy (ah, Monday's), somedays are hard (honey, get home!) but most days are just moderate with some intent. I don't call them "junk" because I head out for every ride with a plan (recovery, endurance, speed, power, starts, bike handling, aero position, double days to up my metabolism and more)

Okay- I must confess that my commuting mentors are my teammates Kevin Metcalfe (was doing 20 each way 5 x a week) and Kent Bostick for whom I have learned a lot!



The point: Be Different

Once when I understood what Larry Nolan was trying to say, I made a decision to push myself in all areas of my life up to the limit and push it upwards every 3-6 months.

How do I do that?

I'd document my goals in the following areas: (Work, Personal and Training). Simplifying your goals and documenting them may make you more focused. Write it down and put it up on your refrigerator, office wall and by the bed.

Looking back to the last 2-3 years of my life, I'm very proud of what I have accomplished in terms of work, personal life and more. Now I want to push myself even more and be even prouder.

I've written some goals such as hosting several camps per year, establish an interpreting company, training and more. I'm starting to see some things I want to improve on. That would have never happened to me if I had never pushed myself to the limits.

Write down goals that will make you be proud of yourself. Learn from them and push yourself again.

Be Different.