I have to be honest; I’m having a little trouble finding my motivation this year as I switch from off season maintenance training to hard core preparation for the upcoming cycling season. The problem is I don’t have a BHAG (I’ll explain that in a minute). Sure, I still work out every day; this will never change, but something is missing. I even have a new bike with a power meter that’s introducing me to a whole new way of training that I’m sure will improve my performance. But I’m having trouble “amp-ing” up the emotional side of my training. Unlike last year I don’t have the same “fire-in-the-belly” kind of motivation, because I don’t have what Jim Collins, the author of “Built to Last”, calls a “Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)”. This time last year I was well into training and preparing for the world’s hardest amateur bike race, Haute Route. Just thinking about Haute Route scared the hell out of me and there’s nothing like a little fear to motivate a person, or in my case, a lot of fear.
In his book, Mr Collins defines a BHAG,as, “a strategic goal which is created to focus an organization (or individual) on a single medium-long term goal which is audacious, likely to be externally questionable, but not internally regarded as impossible”. In the world of amateur cycling, I can’t think of anything that can focus one’s attention more than the thought of competing against 600 of the world’s best amateur cyclists, over 800 km+ in 7 days through the French Alps, with over 20,000 meters (70,000 feet) of climbing. Haute Route surely qualified as my BHAG for 2013 and short of doing it again this year; there’s a big void to fill.
I often suggest to people that are new to exercise or adopting new lifelong healthy habits, that in the absence of tangible, measurable goals that align with a larger purpose, they’re more likely to quit and fall back into their old habits. And goals that are beyond a person’s reach today, but achievable if they really apply themselves are even better. For example, I signed up to my first Ironman when I could barely swim. Again, FEAR of failure is a great motivator.
I coached a guy a few years ago who was 75lbs overweight. Instead of setting a goal to lose this excess weight like they do on the popular TV reality show the “Biggest Loser”, we focused on 9 months of preparing for the Chicago Marathon. His diet and training supported a tangible and measurable goal that wasn’t rooted in vanity. The inevitable, “set-in-stone” start date of the Chicago Marathon wasn’t going to change; it didn’t care what he weighed, or how he looked, it only cares that he focus on the right stuff in preparation, because if he didn’t, it would chew him up and spit him out. I also suggested that he tell as many of his friends and family about his audacious goal and Facebook was great vehicle for this. Not only did it make it impossible to back out, especially after telling so many people, but he also received amazing support. He shared his 9 month journey from obesity to good health with regular updates and I’m sure he inspired a few people along the way. Not only did he successfully complete the marathon, he dropped his weight from 245lbs to 168lbs and more importantly, he sets an annual BHAG to keep him committed to his health.
Only 8% of people stick to their health related New Year’s Resolutions and I myself fall into this small category. In 1979, I decided to lose the extra 35lbs I gained while living a sedentary lifestyle during my time at college and the first couple years of working. I didn’t exercise at all, and my diet consisted primarily of pizza and McDonalds. It was also at this time that my mother was dying of cancer, so I made a New Year’s Resolution to make my health a lifelong priority and my first BHAG was to run the Toronto Eaton’s 10K road race in May of that year (only 5 months away), in under 40 minutes. I hadn’t run a single step since my high school track days, so to just finish a 10k race was a stretch. Instead of setting a goal of simply losing the extra fat I packed on over those years, I set a tangible target that required planning, training and commitment. The muscle soreness and fatigue I felt after running my first mile of training on January 1st was probably my greatest motivator. The more I ran, the better I felt and the better my diet became, as I realized how interconnected exercise and diet were. And even though I wasn’t focused on my weight, it seemed to just take care of itself, as I went from 195lbs to 150lbs in 5 months. So by the time May rolled around, I not only lost 45lbs, but I also ran the 10K race in 36:45 and placed 51st out of 10,000+ participants. Ever since then, I’ve been setting annual goals (like riding from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale Florida in 1982) that supported my lifelong commitment to health (my purpose).
Motivation comes from many places, for example, I love reading about, or meeting people that set BHAG’s for themselves and it’s all the more impressive when these people are in their 80’s, 90’s or older, and are engaged in activities generally considered unnatural for their peer group. In this blog, I often speak about my own father, who’s run the equivalent of 2.5 times around the planet since he started running at the age of 59, and now in his 89th year he still does his daily 5km - 10km walk/jog; or 86 year old Link Lindquisty who I met this past summer in the South of France, who’s the oldest human to cycled up and down all three sides of the infamous Mt. Ventoux in a single day, and he has his sights set on running the Western States 100 mile race when he turns 100 (how’s that for setting a huge BHAG).
But the star of motivation has to be Frenchman, Robert Marchand who two years ago set the world 1 hour cycling record (24.251 km) and 100km (4h 17m) for a human over 100. And if that wasn’t enough, Mr Marchand is at it again in an attempt to break his own world record at the amazing age of 102! (Read his amazing full story below).
So find whatever motivates you to get your ass off the couch and live a healthy and active lifestyle and the following 4 tips will help get going and keep you going:
- Set a goal that’s measurable and is aligned with a greater purpose (it’s too easy to quit without purpose)
- Set goals that scare you a little, (or even a lot). Plan to do something you’ve never done before, or is above your present level requireing preparation, commitment and resolve,
- Tell everyone you know, or meet about your goal and be an inspiration for someone else; positive energy is contagious,
- And most of all…..Enjoy the Ride
Rob
Marchand to make new hour record attempt at 102 years of age
Frenchman continues to inspire and to astound scientists
After previously setting marks for the hour record and 100 kilometres at over 100 years of age, French inspiration Robert Marchand is at it again; now almost 102 years old, he is planning to once again extend his hour record mark.
On February 17th of last year he travelled to the World Cycling Centre is Aigle, Switzerland, and rode 24.251 kilometres in an hour. He had been instructed beforehand by doctors not to exceed 110 beats per minute, and so rode within himself to go at that speed.
“I’m not playing at being a champion,” he said then. “I just wanted to do something for my 100th birthday.”
On September 28th he was at it again, heading to the Parc de la Tête d’Or Velodrome in Lyon and riding 300 laps. He covered the 100 kilometre distance in four hours 17 minutes 27 seconds, again setting a new standard.
Once again, he showed modesty about the achievement. “I feel like a guy who is a hundred years old, I feel good. I’m an ordinary guy,” he said then. “I rode a bike for 52 years, it is not new today.”
Now he wants to try the hour record once more, with INSERM [Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, or National Institute of Health and Medical Research – ed.] professor Véronique Billat announcing the bid today.
“We prepare Robert Marchand for the world record of an hour above 25 km/h in January he will be 102 yrs old,” she wrote on Twitter. “He improved his VO2max (35) and his maximal power by 10% by the strength component, especially 2.65 w/kg of full body mass with 13% fat mass.”
Marchand’s birthday takes place this month and he’s continuing to push the limits for his age.
He trains regularly, lives alone, is self-sufficient and continues to drive. He is just five feet tall (1m52), but is in superb health.
Born in 1911, Marchand started cycling at 14 years of age, then later left France and lived in Canada and Venezuela. He worked as a fireman, market gardener, show salesman and wine dealer, and competed as an amateur boxer. He returned to cycling in 1978 at 67 years of age, building up the distances and training with riders who were far younger than he was.
He finally retired from work at 89 years of age and around that time rode the Bordeaux-Paris event. He covered the 600 kilometres in 36 hours. More recently, he’s limited the distance, although he still does a considerable amount. “For the last five years I have decided not to go for rides of more than 100km,” he said in February of last year, when he lay down an age-related hour record of 24.251 kilometres.
“There is no point going overboard. I want to keep cycling for some time yet.”
Prior to setting his 100 kilometre age record last September, he was asked if he would use any performance-enhancing substances during his attempt. “The only doping for me is water with a spoonful of honey that I put in my canteen [water bottle] - that's it,” he answered then, before joking, “if I was doping, though, maybe I could hit 35 km/h.”
He explained his key to life, and fitness. “I am lucky that I haven’t had any major health problems. My advice to anyone, young or old, is to keep moving. I do ‘physical culture’ every day. It works out my whole body and keeps me supple.
“Some people when they reach 80 years old, start playing cards and they stay immobile. Not me. I’ve never been able to keep still…”
Marchand’s extraordinary physical shape has captivated the attention of many, not least the scientists at the Inserm public research institute. They study him every three months, and are impressed by what they see.
“They told me I had the constitution of a 55-year-old man, they think it's genetic,” he told Reuters last year. “I have never deprived myself of anything: not wine, not food, not women, but always with moderation.”
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