How to Overcome Obstacles
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 9:25AM 
It's February and while most of the country is building snowmen and dodging ice, many of us are out on the streets, climbing hills, and exploring new trails as goal races inch closer into our viewfinders. This is Texas, after all. There is no off-season. There is only insanely hot and somewhat cold; both of which provide no real means and excuses for not training. I'm working with athletes who are one month into training for the Memorial Herrmann Ironman Texas on May 19th. The base is being laid and the hours of training are slowly beginning to increase like a steady bike ride up a long hill. I'm also working with a runner preparing for the Boston Marathon in April. Kudos to her for qualifying. Even more kudos for training through the winter - in Ohio.
As with any plan, obstacles pop up and inevitably, "life gets in the way." Recently, a few of my athletes have endured winter sickness, extensive work travel, and the simple nuances of training under not-so-ideal conditions. Last week, my Boston marathoner texted to ask if she could move her run day because, "It's actually 50 degrees in Ohio today." You bet! Anything to get her off the treadmill and outside to soak in some Vitamin D. Ironically on the same day, one of my Texas triathletes got stuck in a rain deluge while she was out doing her long ride. Not long after she started to ride, Mother Nature unleashed her long-awaited and much-needed fury on Central Texas. Undeterred (but shivering), she rode home, mounted her bike on the trainer, and continued to pedal. Lo and behold, the tire blew and she got a flat. She was frustrated, but counted her blessings that it didn't happen when she was on the road in the storm. By this time, the bulk of the storm had passed, so she improvised the day's plan and went out for a long run instead. She persevered through the obstacles that were rearing their ugly heads that day.
Similarly, I work with a triathlete who is literally on the road with work about 20 days a month. She comes home on the weekends in time to do some longer workouts, catch up with friends, and pack again for the next trip. She has a myriad reasons why she shouldn't be training for races. However, she doesn't use those reasons as excuses. She does the best she can on the road, even staying at hotels near gyms with spin classes and swimming pools. Truly, she remains dedicated to her personal health and fitness; the things that keep her the most sane in her insane occupation.
Training deterrents take all shapes and sizes. Here are a few tips on how to persevere when you are confronted with a training obstacle.
1) Improvise. Find another way around the inconvenience. Michael Jordan once said, "If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." Retired NASA astronaut and author, Winston Scott, once wrote an article on overcoming obstacles. This was his advice: "Remove emotion from the situation as quickly as possible. When disaster initially hits, it may seem larger than life, but if you can step back and look at it realistically, often the solution becomes apparent to you."
2) Think Ahead and Develop a Plan B. In the case of the athlete who travels each week, she actively seeks out accommodations near fitness centers and grocery stores for food. If you are going on vacation and won't be bringing your bike along, can you still get some quality training time? Will you be able to run while you're away? Create an alternative game plan in advance and know how to solve potential issues that may arise.
3) Change your Negative Mindset. When faced with an obstacle, ask yourself, "Is this truly a deterrent or is it simply a negative state of mind?" For instance, I had an athlete riding 40 miles last weekend. The weather was blustery and the headwinds for the first half of the ride were relentless. Other cyclists even turned around early to avoid the torture. Mother Nature was presenting an obstacle, but one that wasn't surmountable. Instead of letting a rash of negative emotion ruin the ride, this athlete simply backed off her intensity and just kept pedaling, knowing that the way back would give her an amazing tailwind. She did finish the whole ride that day and called to let me know how proud of herself she was in that moment. She persevered when others let their negative attitudes become the obstacle.
4) Believe in Yourself. Scott's article stresses the fact that the more obstacles you overcome, the less difficult they become. "The answer," he writes, "lies within you. Maturity and experience will give you the confidence that you can overcome any impediment."
When obstacles threaten to stop you, stay positive and confident! Know that the power to overcome them is within you.
Happy Training!
Carrie Barrett is a USAT Level 1 Certified Coach and freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Her articles have appeared on Lavamagazine.com, Livestrong.com, Runner Triathlete News, Inside Texas Running, and the triathlon anthology, The Meaning of Tri. Barrett is also a member of Erin Baker's National Triathlon Team. For more information on her coaching, speaking and writing, visit fomotraining.com.
Reader Comments (1)
When faced with obstacles as in your examples and I need to change my Negative Mindset, I remind myself of my training goals and objectives. This is accompanied by reality that the achievement thereof is SPECIAL, because of the amount of me that I put into it.