Sonja at Rising Tide Triathlon Coaching provided a free 10 day challenge to kick off December. Routines for Inevitable Success has brought focus and meaning to my training and racing and I will be forever grateful to Sonja and the team of coaches at Rising Tide for their guidance and support!!
Day 1: Setting Intentions
As you probably guessed, day 1 was all about setting intentions. This is a part of the email I received from Sonja:
“Kecia, this is the dream big day…
What have you been wanting more of? What is lacking in your triathlon experience? What do you need a little magical boost of? Some fairy dust that bestows ______ on you? Think big, dream big, allow yourself to go there today, I give you permission. Don’t be shy with what you want!“
Goal: To qualify for Ironman World Championships in KonaWhy 1: I want to overcome the fear of really pushing myself to my limits.Why 2: I want to feel successful and in control.Why 3: I want to feel worthy of such an amazing accomplishment and eliminate all self doubt throughout this journey.Why 4: I want to truly believe deep underneath the surface at the very core of my being that I am amazing inside and out!
Day 2: Rally the Troops
Today was about my community. This is a part of the email I received from Sonja:
“Looking back on the intention you set yesterday, I want you to select 3 PEOPLE in your life that either:
~~~ Expect you to “show up” in racing or training with that Day 1 intention
OR
~~~ Believe that you possess that Day 1 intention (even when you don’t think you do)
Now it’s time to get creative. My favorite part!!
I want you to think of 3 ACTIONS that incorporate one of these people into your routine.”
Coming up with 3 people who believe in me deep underneath the surface at the very core of my being was easy the easy part. I have MANY people in my community who believe in me and support my crazy dreams. But, Tonja (my #solesister), the Iron Hippie (my husband) and my dad are the 3 people I chose to focus on who believe in me deep at the core of my being. They are 3 of the many people I can lean on for support when I am struggling and need a pick me up. I decided to choose my #solesister for this part of the challenge. Why?
- I know she will be overjoyed to help me.
- She is a woman…a strong, brave, courageous, supportive, inspirational woman who knows what it is like to be a woman athlete.
- I want more than anything for her to not only be a part of my training journey, but to also be there in person for my race day journey.
Coming up with the actions made me think a bit longer. Three actions that I came up with to incorporate Tonja into my routine:
- A pep talk video to remind me to always believe in myself deep underneath the surface at the very core of my being, to get comfortable with the uncomfortable, and to #nevergiveup on my goals and dreams!
- Text self confidence and belief quotes to me just because, when I need a pick me up, to help me get out the door to train, and in the days leading up to a big race.
- Take my lucky charm with me (given to me by Tonja) on trainer rides, look at it before and after every workout, and continue to take it with me to all of my races.
Day 3: Functional Playlist
Today was about the tunes. Here is a part of the email I received from Sonja today:
“A functional playlist is a short list of 2-4 songs that gets you into a particular mood.
These aren’t necessarily your favorite songs of the moment, these songs tap you into your intention set on day one.
Function means that they serve a purpose, these songs are a step on the path to your intention…it’s a bit of a lifehack honestly!”
While I LOVE to listen to music, I don’t pay much attention to song titles and the artists who sing them. I just know a good song when I hear it and I can typically give you some of the lyrics to the song…although sometimes I have made up my own lyrics to the songs I like. What can I say…it has been known to happen 😉 To make it even more challenging, I was to come up with 2-4 tunes that help me #believe in myself deep underneath the surface at the very core of my being. Sooooo…my lack of knowledge for song titles and artists made this challenge take longer than it probably should have. A couple of songs came to mind immediately…”Perfect” by Pink and “Roar” by Katy Parry. “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction and “Soar” by Christina Aguilera took much longer to come up with, thanks to my lack of musical knowledge. The good news…I found the songs that help me #believe in myself and downloaded them so I don’t have to search any longer!! And without further adieu, I give you my “Believe Playlist”
Day 4: A Touch of Magic
Lucky charms and superstitions was the theme for today, and here is part of the email Sonja sent:
“If you already have a good luck charm or superstition that you use I want you to shine the microscope on it today and ask yourself:
- What successful moment in your life it connects you to?
- When was the first time you used it?
- Where did that superstition come from?
- Is it in line with your day 1 intention?
- Is it in harmony or dissonance with what you are trying to create your routine around?”
- Lucky Charm: a stone from my #solesister that says, “In a world of ordinary mortals you are a wonder woman!”
- Superstition: Take a shower before all of my “A” races
- What successful moment in your life it connects you to?
- Lucky Charm: This connects me to Tonja so she is with me on race day, even though she may not be there in person, she is with me in spirit.
- Superstition: This connects me to great race experiences by washing away all bad race experiences from the past.
- When was the first time you used it?
- Lucky Charm: When Tonja gave it to me before my USAT Age Group National Championships in 2013
- Superstition: At Ironman Wisconsin 2014 when I washed away my bad IMWI race experience from 2011.
- Where did that lucky charm/superstition come from?
- Lucky Charm: My stone came from Tonja, my #solesister
- Superstition: This came from deciding to wash away my bad IMWI race experience from 2011 before starting my day at IMWI in 2014.
- Is it in line with your day 1 intention?
- Lucky Charm: Absolutely! This helps me get into the mindset that I am wonder woman 🙂
- Superstition: Absolutely! It helps me #believe in myself, my abilities and my training more by washing away all negativity and starting the day clean, fresh and positive.
- Is it in harmony or dissonance with what you are trying to create your routine around?
- Lucky Charm: Harmony…this definitely ties in well with instilling more belief in myself
- Superstition: Harmony…this definitely ties in well with instilling more belief in myself
I shower before every “A” race as a way to wash away all negativity and bad vibes from previous races. I know it sounds silly since I typically submerge myself in a lake to swim and proceed to get all sweaty and nasty, but I start my race clean and full of positive mojo so I can truly believe in myself, my abilities and my training as I race to the next finish line!!
“They take many different forms and you can really get creative here, but to help you out, here are some guidelines to follow when creating a mantra for your routine for inevitable success:
~~~ Connect to your intention, you may even start with your intention and work from there~~~ Use funky creative words. You can even use words that aren’t words, like funner, funning, relaxer, chillax, diggity, fliggity, radtastic“Lighter, Softer, Faster, Relaxer” from Tara Anderson, a Boulder runner~~~ Keep it short, and memorable~~~ Stay positive, and whatever you do, don’t vocalize what you don’t want. Phrases like “No pain, no gain”, “clear your mind of can’t” or “pain is weakness leaving the body” highlight the feelings you don’t want. Don’t fall into this trap!~~~ Use action words, especially ones that connect you to what it feels like to be at your best like: climb, fly, lead, leap, push, pull~~~ Three words with the same first letter work really well, Bold, Brave, Boss, as do words with the same ending, Lighter, Faster, StrongerWhen in doubt, think about what you will desperately need to hear when you are in a state that is NOT your day 1 intention. What will resonate deeply?“
Day 6: Productive Pep Talk
I talk to myself all the time while training and racing, constantly encouraging myself to keep pushing hard, while trying to change my mindset from the negative to the positive. Sonja’s email made creating a pep talk easy because she scripted what we should write to create a productive pep talk.
“Grab a sheet of paper and follow along:
WRITE DOWN: “Hi__________”—>> then add your name, your nickname, what your friends call you, what you wish your friends called you… make it personal!WRITE DOWN: “I know you feel __________”—>> then add what the opposite of your Day 1 intention is, you know, that feeling of uug, or poor me, or I just want to sit on the couch, that one!WRITE DOWN: “Your goal is to __________”—>> now write a little about your intention and what you hope it brings youWRITE DOWN: “and in order to do that you might have to __________”—>> now write down all the things you need to do that you don’t want to, especially when you are feeling the opposite or you intention.WRITE DOWN: “You have__________”—>> write as many support structures as you can think ofWRITE DOWN: “and here’s what you have to gain__________”—>> then add all you have to gain from racing/training/being in sync with your Day 1 intentionWRITE DOWN: “__________, I know you can do this”—>> Add back in your name, your nickname, what your friends call you, what you wish your friends called you.”
Day 7: Wake Up That Brain
After yesterday’s more challenging task, today’s task was designed to be much simpler 🙂 Here is a snippet from Sonja’s email:
“Do you know which brain exercise to use for your intention?
Victory and Power Posing: Use this for intentions that require you to be strong, be tough, get through something challenging.
- Belief in Self
- Confidence
- Courage
- Bravery
- Self love
- Jumping off Things…
Now that you know which one, it’s time to practice, to TRAIN! 3×30 seconds will do! See, I promised it was QUICK!”
Day 8: Tapping into your Senses
Wow! This was one of the toughest days of the challenge yet. Did you know that sweet foods lead to satisfaction and salty foods lead to a zest for life?!?!?! Me neither!! Sonja had us tap into our senses, specifically taste and smell for today’s challenge.
“Smells and Tastes can connect us to a time, a place, a memory, a feeling or an emotion.
If you need to go from a low energetic state to a high energy state:
- caffeine, or bright smells work well
If you need to go from a high energy state to a calmer more introspective place:
- tea, or floral scents are the way to go.
Also helpful,Think of foods or smells that link back to successful moments, memories, or instances in your life.You are a PRO at connecting your challenge to you intention by now, use your creativity and incorporate something that’s going to tap you into either the success you are after, or the emotion you hope to feel.”
Day 9: Pulling Things Together
The time is here to pull all of our hard work together and get our routine for inevitable success dialed in!! Here is an excerpt from Sonja’s email:
“Start off with reviewing your last 7 days of completed challenge exercises. Sit with each of them for about 30 seconds and make a mental note of your favorites.
NOW – Select 4-5 of the challenge days that either:
- feel the most fun
- feel easy and effortless
~~~ Remember, if you are using MOJO, or willpower you are headed in the WRONG direction. Back up the truck, put it in reverse, and look for EASY and/or FUN.Some of your challenge days might need a little beefing up, or tweaking so that they start to come together in the right way. That watermelon you used for the senses might turn into a secret stash of watermelon Jolly Ranchers.NEXT – think about FLOW.~~~ I highly urge you start with either your playlist, or your senses. Those are both great for kicking off a routine. What task would keep it mojo free? For me, starting a playlist takes no mojo, but going downstairs and getting a handful of Espresso Beans does. Think easy!~~~ Imagine the state you will be in when you are starting this routine….you are in a place of lack, a state that is the opposite of your Day 1 intention. Think of how you are going to use these challenges to build momentum into your Intention.~~~ End with your brain warm up exercise. That is going to be money and the final straw to launch you into your Day 1 intention.”
1. Start my “Believe” playlist…time to get down and jam!
2. Take a couple of swigs of Karma Kombucha Orange Ginger…”I #believe I can fly”
3. Listen to my pep talk (previously recorded) while I pull on my workout gear…”Don’t stop believing”
4. Grab my lucky charm from Tonja and head out the door…”In a world of ordinary mortals, you are a Wonder Woman!”
5. Stand on the front step in power pose for 30 seconds because…I am Wonder Woman!
It is time to #believe in my journey!! Thanks Rising Tide Triathlon Coaching for this amazing experience!!
Day 10: Celebrate!!
I’m sad to see this challenge come to completion! It has been so much fun and very beneficial! This last day is all about putting it all together and celebrating! Sonja said:
“TODAY we put your SFD into practice!
Can you see what a game changer this can be for you? Did you get excited just knowing you have a tool in your toolbox that you can pull out anytime to put yourself in the energy state that yields SUCCESS? I got excited for you!Give that ritual a test drive today, see what needs tweaking! What took mojo to incorporate…ditch that…what was the most fun part? Add MORE of that!If you didn’t put together your routine yesterday, TODAY is that DAY! Like I said, when in doubt, slap your 5 favorite challenges on a piece of paper and call it good. It’s not about perfection, you have already done the heavy lifting. THEY ALL WORK!It can be so easy to think that we have learned enough by doing 90%. I see this as a triathlon coach constantly. Athletes often stop just short of completion, when usually, that last 5% is literally easy as cake.The moment you’re ready to quit, is usually the moment right before the miracle happens! Don’t give up!At rising Tide Triathlon coaching, we ask our athletes to reach out if they are frustrated, confused, or STUCK, and I want you to do the same.”
Rising Tide is currently accepting new athletes for the 2016 season, so now is the time to capitalize and have a great coaching team support your journey!!
This 10 day challenge was absolutely amazing and so much fun!! If you missed out on the opportunity to participate in it, I would highly recommend you do it on your own time 😉 I think I’m going to go through this process for a couple of different aspects of both training and racing so I am completely set up for success!! Heck…why stop there?!?! I can use it to fit other areas of my life as well…work, family, home…and you can too 🙂
Thank you Sonja and Rising Tide Triathlon Coaching for this AWESOME and FUN opportunity to grow and learn!! xoxo
PushMyLimits 