We talked about the tool kit this morning. The cyclist or triathlete's need to be a master of the many, a Jack of all Trades (and Master of some). Among the tools:
The speed tool. High RPM, efficient cadence. 0-60.
The power tool. Because playing fields are never level.
The torque wrench. To apply appropriate wattage for the task (climb) at hand.
The explosive power tool. Short bursts of ALL YOU GOT.
The endurance tool. Because going long is going to test you.
The intensity tool (today's lesson). Out of comfort and into challenge zone.
The focus tool. Lazer-like presence.
The positivity tool. Yes I can in a jar.
The confidence tool. Yes I will in a baggie.
The humble tool. Always room for improvement. ALWAYS.
The fuel tool. Precision nutrition.
The rest and recovery tool. This one is the hardest to master. Be it analog, pneumatic, electric, solar, nuclear or digital, the opposite of intensity is not lethargy. For our purposes and in our tool boxes, the greater the intensity, the harder the work, the higher the effort, the more we need to master the use of the rest and recovery tool. Opposites attract. Yin to Yang. If you are going to saw you will also need a file.
Please keep your tools calibrated, clean and assessable. You might also want to keep them locked up, safe and secure. Because there are plenty of folks out there that do not have your talent. They will steal your tools. They do not possess your skill. They have but a small percentage of your dedication and discipline. You have a work ethic. They have a dead-end job. You have the tools of the trade. They want it in pill form. You recognize the value in the work. They just want the pay check. Tools, btw, make great gifts.
You also understand that any tool is only as good as the person wielding it, that the successful combination of tools and talent often creates magic. Or a masterpiece.
We have opposing thumb and finger. We have a brain. We have tools. There are instructions. Let's go to work.
The hammer, the paintbrush, the tenor saxophone. Forging the swim, building the bike, honing the run.
Pic: The big hammer pounds the 56 tooth ring into submission.
3 comments:
"forging the swim"? Is there a current?
Always seems to be when I swim. Really, I was on the return leg Sunday and every time I looked up to sight the same buoy seemed to never move. Scary slow. Constant current.
Take care of your tools, and your tools will take care of you.
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