THE GAME OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS

I get very little sleep in the month of July… why???? Because the Tour De France is on…. BROTHER … NEED I SAY MORE????

So… here's a snapshot of my life, during the month of July.

I get up at 5:00AM.  Since I live 40 miles from the shop... I get my training in, by either commuting part way to work by parking my car... 20 miles out and riding the rest of the way in and then back to the car at the end of the day... Or... training after work, during other parts of the week....

The shop closes at 7... so I get home by 8:30ish...

Once I get home...by the time I get my stuff sorted out and Colby (my Jack Russell) set... it's already 9:30.

Now... during a non-Tour De France week... 9:30 means... I'm start to pack it in for bed... but not during the TOUR DE FRANCE...!!!!

NOPE... during the month of July... I'm switching on the DVR... only to find out, that I’ve again failed to properly record the day’s race. 

Yup, AGAIN... as in the previous days.. I have discovered that I've recorded the first 1 hour and 45 minutes of racing but failed to record the last 30 minutes of the race!  That's like missing the last 30 minutes of a movie!!!!

Even though I could find out the results... THAT'S NOT THE FREAKING POINT.... I WANT TO SEE THE LAST 30 minutes of the days race....

So... now I’m forced to stay up and watch the evening edition... aka  entire race.... which ends at 11:00. UGH!!!!!! 

This happens eeeeeeveryyyy night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I haven't figured out my freaking DVR yet!!!!! 

Trust me.. on the last night, I'll probably figure it out.

At this point... I am at a high state of sleep deprivation....

Peanut... behind the counter in the shop... sleeping on the job during the month of July

Two of the undeniably toughest mentally focused athletes out there were and still are Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods. 

Despite the drama of the  ongoing doping allegations...  Lance was known for his lazer like focus and that has always been one of his greatest strengths.  The same with Tiger Woods...  and that has  also turned into his greatest weakness.  

Since his fall from grace, he has lost his focus, lost his mental toughness... lost his mental edge... and as a result... he's no longer the man we thought to be unbeatable on the golf course.

So...   in watching the Tour, as it unfolds... it is very clear that mental toughness plays a very big role in the sport of cycling... 

Check the guys in the standings... at this point... mental toughness plays as big a role as physical toughness.  We've seen some of the guys at the top, crack wide open at critical moments...  

Cadel Evans was on fire in 2011... He's a very different rider in the 2012 Tour.  He went from being a contender to fighting for a top 10 finish.   

Someone much smarter than me once said... “The mind will tire before the body will”...

Anyone can have a good day, even a great day on the bike... BUT... if you want to consistently have great days on the bike... you have to get mentally tough...  and that, Sports Fans...  will take a different type of training...

Jones and colleagues (2002) were the first researchers to address mental toughness using empirical methods. 
JOURNAL OF APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY, 17: 209–227, 2005
Copyright ©Association for Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology
ISSN: 1041-3200 print / 1533-1571 online
DOI: 10.1080/10413200591010085


They defined mental toughness as a natural or developed psychological edge that enables mentally tough performers to generally cope better than their opponents with the demands and related pressures that occur in sport. 

Their study identified several essential characteristics of mental toughness.  These are:

* Self-belief
* Desire
* Motivation 
* Focus
* Coping with anxiety
* Dealing with pain & hardship.

So, as with physical fitness, mental toughness is trainable. 

Knowing yourself is critical. Developing self-awareness will uncover the unique qualities that make you better than your opponents, that can be used to your advantage.

Here's a few things to work on, to help train your mental toughness:

Use Pain as a trigger
Check it out.... In a training ride or in a race, instead of mindlessly following the group or maintaining an effort level in which your body is screaming for you to stop or quit – flip the switch in your mind to think differently.

Do this by using the discomfort or pain as a trigger for several strategies.

Fight your way through the pain!


Strategy #1: Breathing
Control your breathing to stay relaxed.

When we start dealing with discomfort and pain, we tense up.... some of us even start to hyperventilate when we are under stress... which is even worse!!!

If you have tense muscles and posture, then valuable energy is going to waste. It takes energy (precious ATP) to contract your muscles. Tight and tense muscles use energy, leaving less available for your legs. The ability to stay relaxed when the crap hits the fan is paramount. 

Use these babies effectively and stay relaxed!!! 




Strategy #2: Power phrases.. 
Now don't be a boob and start screaming these out at the top of your gills... folks around you will think you to be a bit weird. But then again... it would be rather entertaining.

Using pain as a mental trigger to begin focusing on your breathing is helpful, but sometimes you need more. You might consider finding some power words to use. For instance, when the ride starts hammering and you realize you'll need some strength to stay up, pull harder, climb hard, etc., you can start focusing on a phrase that means something to you. A few of my favorite Power Phrases are: “Make them suffer more”....  “Just 20 more seconds! ” 

Strategy #3: Visualization
Visualization is critical.

Having an image of yourself riding strongly gives your mind a picture to focus on when your body wants to give into fatigue instead.


The brain cannot tell the difference between real and imagined action... so the power of visualization, mentally rehearsing a race... can have a huge positive impact on your racing and riding. 


So... start training your mind along with your body... and get mentally tough.

Have fun out there, Ride Safe

I'll Talk with you all soon

The Peanut Gallery

TAKING A TIME OUT TO SAY ... "THANKS"

It's hard to believe that on July 16, 2012, Blue Steel Cyclery, will be 2 years old... and in looking back over the past 2 years all I can say is... WOW... It's been a blast!!


As with any small business... A bicycle shop has several layers, very similar to an onion.

My Crew... I love my Crew!!!!  :)


The center or the core of onion is the shops' crew... which is made up of the mechanics, sales guys and our part time folks.  Without a good crew... the core would rot and the onion would simply die.  I have an AWESOME CREW!!!  So...  that's the 1st of  3, "thank you's", I wanted  to say.

Without my crew... well... it would be a pretty hollow onion.  That's a damned sad thought!!!  So... my heart goes out to my Crew... they are truly the core of the shop!!!

The next layer of the bike shop onion would be the Vendors we work with.  These are my business partners and in many cases (for sure in mine), they have become my friends and confidants...   

Without a doubt.... I absolutely TRUST each and every Rep I am working with.  Any Rep I didn't trust... I have asked them not to come back to the shop... in other words... they were fired.

The Reps we work with, want Blue Steel Cyclery to be successful and they want our customers to be satisfied with their products.  

So... my 2nd "thank you", goes out to the Vendors and the Reps I work with.  Their jobs aren't the easiest.... they work long hours and spend lots of miles behind the windshield... So... Thank you for your support over the past 2 years, I really appreciate all that you've done to help us be successful.

Finally... the most important layer of all... THE CUSTOMERS.  Without you guys... well, the core would die, the Vendors would cease to exist... the shop... well, BLUE STEEL CYCLERY wouldn't be able to be a bike shop.

All of us... the Crew, the Vendors... but especially me.... PEANUT... me... KATHY SARVARY... 

I want to say from the bottom of my heart...

THANK YOU....

Thank you for coming to the shop to buy your inner tubes....
Thank you for coming to the shop to get your bikes tuned up...
Thank you for coming to the shop to buy your Gu...
Thank you for coming to the shop to buy your bikes...
Thank you for coming to the shop to just say "hi"....
Thank you for coming to the shop and bringing beer to the guys at Christmas...
Thank you for coming to the shop and kicking me in the ass when we screw things up... rather then never coming back again...
Thank you for coming to the shop and giving us a second chance after we've already been given a second chance...
Thank you for coming to the shop for Fathers' Day gifts...
Thank you for coming to the shop for Mothers' Day gifts...
Thank you for coming to the shop to buy gift cards...
Thank you for coming to the shop for birthday gifts...
Thank you for coming to the shop to just share a joke...
Thank you for coming to the shop to bust my chops because you beat me on Strava... 
Thank you for coming to the shop to just get air in your tire and then you're surprised when we say it's "free"
Thank you... for.... everything....

I could thank you for a million things, but I think you get the point.  I am so grateful.

We want to be your shop... I will continue to work hard to earn your business.  Hopefully, you will let us continue to work towards earning it... if we falter... and we will from time to time....All I ask, is don't quietly walk away without a sound...Please let me know what we did wrong... so I can at least fix it...    

In celebration of our 2 year anniversary.. we are having the biggest sale of the year, which will be starting  July 14 - July  22.   The cool thing is... This is Trek's Summer Sale... and there are some great sales on Trek Road bikes as well as lots of other slick Trek stash...

BUT... in addition to Treks... we're putting LOTS and LOTS of EXTRA stuff in the shop on sale as a thank you... turning this into the biggest sale of the year for Blue Steel Cyclery... so... if you are looking for a great deal on anything cycling related... this is the time to drop by the shop. 

But... quantites are limited and the best deals will go fast, so word to the wise...If you're looking for a hot deal...

If you're the Squirrel... and you want the nut badly enough... I say...just show up with a machine gun!!! 

Since I'm going to be as busy as a one armed paper hanger for the up coming week, this blog will be out there for the next 2 weeks...

Talk to you in 2 weeks.

Have fun out there, Ride Safe

I'll Talk with you all soon

The Peanut Gallery