Rob Eakin Triathlete

Motivation – Part 2

Back to talk a little more about motivation. (Motivation - Part 1)

So if I'm being honest with myself, I'm mostly an extrinsically motivated (wanting the prize) athlete. It was something that I wasn't willing to admit at first. And it took me a while to figure out why.

We're told over and over that to be good people we need to be intrinsically motivated. We need to do things because they make us feel good, is the right things to do, or simply for the good of someone else. If you need an extrinsic reward you aren't of strong character. And until I read the piece from Larry Zimich, I always felt a little guilty about knowing I wasn't always intrinsically motivated.

Now fair enough, in day to day life, being intrinsically motivated is important and valuable. It makes you a much better and more bearable person to deal with. But being intrinsically motivated only takes you so far. If any of us are completely honest with ourselves, most of our best efforts, our best work, our best accomplishments have come when we were extrinsically motivated.

When it comes to training, I know that many of my best workouts came when I was trying to keep up with someone else to prove myself or beat someone else to prove I was faster. And I get up for 5:30 am swims not because it makes me feel good but because it will make me faster than those who don't.

So as Larry says...

For intrinsics, the prize was never the ultimate aim anyway; it was there as the icing on the cake.  If it's won, it's won, if not at least they tried their best.  Trying your best isn't in a pro's vocabulary.  To reach your full potential it can't be in yours.

Being amateur doesn't mean we have to be amateurish in our approach.  Motivation is powerful because it directly influences our actions and reactions.  Choose to adopt and more importantly, maintain, a professional, motivational, extrinsic work ethic and half your job is done. Never take your eye off the prize.

So I've come to terms with being extrinsically motivated. I think it brings out the best of me (in athletic terms) and have starting searching and taking advantage of every bit of external motivation I can find.

But being extrinsically motivated can have its downfalls. That's why Part 3 will be about what I call, "be internally extrinsic and externally intrinsic" (or "be Steve Nash not Terrell Owens").

Motivation – Part 1

It's November in Vancouver and that means rain, rain, and then just when you think it can't possibly, it rains some more. Add to that short days of sunlight and temperatures in the single digits and getting out the door for workouts can be a challenge.

So motivation becomes key. This motivation thing is something that I've been mulling over all fall. Where does it come from? Where does it go sometimes? How can I use it? I'm hoping that actually writing about it here might help clarify things for me and perhaps have you the reader learn a little in the process.

Part of the piece from Larry Zimich that got me thinking about all this:

Intrinsically motivated athletes, compete because they want to and because they enjoy the competitive element of pushing their body to its limits.  Extrinsically motivated athletes compete because they have to and because they enjoy the external rewards of trophies and fame.  Intrinsic athletes are capable of self-motivation, extrinsic athletes require external stimulus (the reward) to gain motivation.

So are you intrinsically motivated? Do you do that run because it makes you feel better about yourself? Because you get a sense of accomplishment?

Or are you extriniscally motivated? Do you do that run because it makes you faster than someone else? Because it takes you one step closer to the glory of victory?

After a lot of thought I discovered I'm more one than the other, even if it isn't always the more popular one. And the more I think about it, the more I'm ok with it.

I'll tell you why in my next post.

Patience

So this getting back into running slowly is taking some patience. It's tough watching the crew head out to go running each week after swimming and having the wherewithal to say no.

Even though the foot has felt fine, I told myself 4 weeks of easy running before I jump back into intensity. 3 weeks down now, 1 to go. I'll be back soon guys.

Other than that, feeling back into the swing of real training. The week in numbers (you can see where the focus is right now)...

Swim - 4:52 (13.0 km)
Bike - 4:26 (115.5 km)
Run - 1:32 (12.7 km)
Strength - 1:55

Total - 12:37 (141.1 km)

Time for a nice week of recovery.

Keeping it Fresh

I'm sore. I'm tired. I'm hungry all the time. Must be back at serious training.

But I'm motivated. I'm challenged. I'm excited. So it's not all bad.

I'm doing my best to keep things fresh. Spin sessions on Monday nights with Larry Zimich are very motivating. Trying to get through 4 km swims with a swim club is a challenge.  And today I'm excited to try out some Computrainer racing at Peak Performance Centre.

And if all of that isn't enough, tickets are booked for a ten day trip/training camp in Maui in February. The knowledge that some fun in the sun is on the horizon should keep me going through the cold, wet winter.

Today's song du jour...

The National - Apartment Story

Be still for a second while I try and try to pin your flowers on
Can you carry my drink I have everything else
I can tie my tie all by myself
I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why

Oh we’re so disarming darling, everything we did believe
is diving diving diving diving off the balcony
Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave

Hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo for hours
While it sings to itself or whatever it does
when it sings to itself of its long lost loves
I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why

Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave
but I’ll be with you behind the couch when they come
on a different day just like this one

We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days

We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz

so worry not
All things are well
we’ll be alright
we have our looks and perfume

Stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz

So worry not
all things are well
we’ll be alright
we have our looks and perfume on

Return Engagement

Same place...new bikes...faster time?

Words of Wisdom

Picked up an interesting thought from Larry last night at spin class. Next time you're in tough (whether it be a workout or race) ask yourself which way your mind-body connection is working. Is it from the bottom up? Is your body telling your mind you can't go any further or harder? Or are you working from the top down? Is your mind simply telling your body what to do?

The more you concentrate on working from the top down, the further you're going to be able to push yourself. So next time you're in tough try only letting your mind do the talking.