Ordinary Marathoner

The plans were laid out and things were about to happen. You asked for more podcasts and I was ready to provide. Then, our household had to deal with a COVID-scare. Lucky for the at-home gym, I was able to continue all my training. After a 10-day self-quarantine and multiple passed nasal swab tests, we are (crossing-fingers / knocking-on-wood) in the clear.

But the fallout will persist through this week and perhaps into next. BUT WE WILL GO TO A Monday, Wednesday, Friday podcast schedule as soon as it becomes possible.

In the meantime, you may also want to check out some YouTube channels from former podcast guests Matt Schorer and Mike Romans. I support anyone putting themselves out there attempting to be creative.

So, I didn’t quite know what to expect after the last podcast, but I didn’t expect all of the responses, that’s for sure. Most of them were great! Thank you for that. It’s always great to know your work is being appreciated. But some of you had some thoughts and concerns, and I do my best to address those on today’s podcast.

Most importantly, we’ll do our best to make some adjustments on-the-fly thanks to your feedback. You wanted more podcasts. You wanted more training. You wanted more team-oriented things… with less constant discussion about Zwift.

Message received loud and clear. And I know that you can all vote with your feet if it came down to it, so I hope to make some changes… Once our quarantine is lifted. (Ugh… don’t ask!)

How are your New Year’s Resolution going so far? Have you failed? If so, don’t wallow in the failure! Pick yourself up. Learn from it and adjust! Failures are learning opportunities!

We are doing great so far this year! The team is expanding – our Strava club page has grown, and our Zwift rides and runs are taking off! We are trying new things – like this ZOOM call Livestream that somehow has over 100 views! Things are looking up and we are “Thinking Big” in 2021!

This past week was a solid week of training, and we are looking forward to going back-to-back with another solid week this week. Keep an eye out for our Team Event schedule, which will include group rides, group runs, and anything else we got cookin’!

Well, 2020 was a challenging year for all of us in ways. And though we are now officially through it, many of the problems of 2020 will persist into 2021. But we should be a bit better prepared this year.

Last year’s resolutions were thrown off with the pandemic. Last January, the notion that this could happen wasn’t even in anyone’s mind. This year, we know what it is and at least we can be aware that training may be interrupted, gyms may open and close, and races may be canceled.

While many of 2020’s Resolution’s remain incomplete, there were many positive things to take away. Lessons have been learned and the mantra for 2021 is: THINK BIG! Think big with our community, the podcast, our goals and our training.

For 3-4 years this community has grown organically into where we are today. We’ve done some amazing things with more amazing things to come. Time to break out of our shell and share it with the world!

As we wind down 2020 and look ahead towards 2021, a few things crossed my path the past week that made me do some thinking.

A chance encounter with a friend made me realize that people see me as, “that triathlon guy.” There are certainly worse things. I couldn’t help but wonder what people must have thought of me before I started training. And though I don’t necessarily ascribe to dwelling on what people think of me, it is somewhat a legacy issue of sorts. I’d rather be seen as something other than “that beer drinking guy who reminisces about sports all the time.” And “the guy that does Ironman races,” seems like a much better moniker.

Another chance encounter came when I heard a phrase from a book called The Black Swan, by Nassim Taleb. I read this book a while back, but I didn’t recall this lesson. It said, “Collect opportunities, and don’t chase trains.” I had absolutely no idea what it meant by “chasing trains.” But I listened. It made me think of how many things in my past haunt me. Regrets? Maybe. Things that bother me? Things that make me wonder… what if that didn’t happen the way it did?

It’s all “chasing trains,” and it’s counterproductive. Take responsibility for the choices you’ve made – whether they seemed like the right choice at the time, or whether luck seemed to go against you. It was your choice. You only get one life… learn from the past, yes. But don’t dwell. Move forward. Be productive. My New Year’s Resolution special will be out next week.

It’s been a brutal week for me in terms of being able to get things done. I knew it would be, but chasing after a 2 year-old all day is even more exhausting than I thought. Throw about a foot of snow into the mix and this week just completely got away from me in terms of the podcast.

Already, my nice stepping-stone approach to the 2021 calendar has been destroyed. Special thanks to Rock N Roll Half Marathon DC, which postponed from late March to November. I get it, I do. I understand. But I still can’t help but be frustrated.

But I’m trying not to wallow. Trying to be optimistic and look for the silver linings. And with New Year’s around the corner, it’s a perfect time to start getting ready for 2021. It’s time to step back and take a broad, aerial view of the surroundings and make appropriate changes. Just in time for some resolutions!

We had Matt Schorer on the podcast a little over a year ago, making him a repeat guest today. Matt had dropped a bunch of weight, trained hard, and completed Ironman Lake Placid in 2019. High hopes abound for 2020. The sky was the limit. Until coronavirus hit.

Races were canceled and training has simmered a bit. But his love for the bike has kept him moving. His obstacle now seems to be centered on one thing: food. Intermittent fasting has been a partial success, but the occasional binge has held back any progress on the weight loss goals.

While he moves his winter training from outdoor to indoor riding, he is also starting his own vlog on YouTube. The vlog is intended to help him hold himself accountable, but also to share his story. If others find it relatable and it helps them succeed as well, then that’s a win/win as far as Matt is concerned.

Need a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

Sometimes in training, as in life, things go wrong. When this happens in training, your choice is simple… you either fix it, or you don’t fix it. Of course, if you choose the latter it will only send you further into the abyss toward regression or failure. When faced with the choice to fix it, I’ve found two basic approaches.

The first is the drastic, one-time change. “Draw the line,” I find myself saying. Bad behavior stops today, good behavior starts tomorrow. This drastic change can be met with great success, but at tremendous risk of failure.

The second is the “Dial-It-In” approach. Instead of the making huge, sweeping life changes, make little ones. Dial in your routine. Keep the good things, adjust the bad. The risk with this choice is not making enough changes to change the tide of regression or failure, in which case you make more adjustments.

I’ve tried both approaches with success, and failure. I’ve doled out both forms of advice. I’ve learned when to attack training with one method, and when to use the other. So, if you’re struggling with training… decide how you’re going to make the necessary changes. Are you going to draw the line? Or are you going to dial it in?

Thank you to everyone who participated over the weekend in the Ordinary Half Marathon. It was great to see so many people come together and run in this trying year. So great to see so many people setting goals and accomplishing them. Thank you for your participation and we hope to see you in the Spring for our full 2021 Ordinary Marathon.

What did I learn about myself over the past weekend? I learned that you can’t not run and expect to maintain your performance-level. This is not a new lesson. I’ve learned it before. BUT… the good news is that I was able to run for 4 days straight. I also learned that getting the training in can be a matter of choice and commitment, instead of making excuses.

So, what to do for here. I am where I am… there’s just a choice to make. Given my goals – short-term, medium-term, and long-term – I need to train harder. This week I will split into two parts – recovery in the beginning, and testing in the end. Testing now will give me a great starting point as we leap towards achieving those goals in the future.

Need a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

Today we have our Official Team Dietitian, Allison Knott on the podcast. With the holiday season approaching, a lot of us look at it as a difficult time to maintain our training. This is especially true when with think of the foods we eat, or in some cases OVEReat.

Allison and I discuss the impending doom and destruction of your training regimen, as you ruin day after day in November and December, grasping for the New Year’s Resolution to save you.

Ok, well maybe that’s my outlook. Not Allison’s. She’s a bit more level-headed. Check it out in our latest podcast.