Craftsbury Marathon: What we loved and learned from sub zero skiing

When we walked to breakfast the SWIX thermometer said 15 Below Zero.  Breathing in felt crispy as the moisture in our nose and on our face quickly froze.  This was my 10 year-old daughter and my second Craftsbury Marathon and despite the cold we were both very excited to ski our best and have fun. The moon the night before had been the brightest all year, the sun was bright and beautiful blue skies told me this was going to be a great day.

At the common dining room where we have had many wonderful hearty meals and delightful conversations over the 11 years we have been staying at Craftsbury, we met a woman who recognized my Ciclismo Classico wind jacket and said that she dreamed of taking one of our bicycle tours with her friends. She also shared that she has been involved with the repurchase project of Windblown Cross Country Ski Area, a project that I have pledged my interest in with a "$250. Yes Count me in" vote of approval. Another serendipitous meeting of the mind experience that comes out of just doing what you love.


Layering would be tough today. How many layers do you wear when it is below zero? We knew we would warm up a lot while skiing but it was still tricky.  We both ended up putting on several thin wicking layers and our jackets.

The night before we had our TOKO friends put on the magical mix of green klister bind and several layers of highly buffled mint green wax but while we had Wax Peace of Mind, we had them rub in a couple more layers of Blue.

At the starting line. I kept asking myself:  Warmer Hat? Glove liner? More energy drink? Carrying too much food? What about that wax? By the time I could circle back with that thought the cow bells rung and we were off dashing down the track sharing the 12KM loop with hundreds of the nation's best skiers as well as passionate amateurs like Valentina and I.  Lesson Number 1. Be Ready.  The best skiers and likely winners most certainly were

By KM 3, our hands were frozen but we also had one too many layer on and were carrying too much stuff (camera's snacks, etc). Since the next check point was not for 8KM we would have to do our best feeling a bit hot and overloaded.

Althought it was a bit slippery, the course was beautiful, just the right flow of flats, ups, downs and rolling. There were lots of fast skiers too so while we could look ahead, we had TRACK yelled at us throughout the race ( a request to get out of your track and let the faster skier behind you have the track). Personally I like the on your left command in cycling a bit better

At KM 4 we took off some layers and got a bit more wax since we were slipping. We skied off with Valentina always in the lead!  At KM 6 Volunteers shouted out HEED ( a performance drink)and GOO which most just grabbed and whizzed by. We stopped,  enjoyed 2 cups of Heed and Valentina has her first try of sticky GOO. Here we met up with Ciclismo Classico alumni Caroline Mock who had won our FREE Ciclismo Classico Spot in the Marathon.

Off we went again. At KM 7 we had a more serious problem. Valentina had gotten GOO in her glove and when she took it off and then put it back on, the glove lining remained inside out and she could not put the glove back on.  We struggled for ten minutes but the glove was rendered useless. I gave her my glove and then tried to figure out how I would ski 5KM in sub zero temps without a glove. I managed a combination of pulling my sleeve over my hand, skiing one handed and mind over matter until we got back to the center and I could switch out gloves. Lesson Number 2: Watch the Goo, bring extra gloves and Mind over Matter is more powerful than you think (at least until real frostbite hits).

By halfway through the race, we both got everything right. Layers were good, extra weight was off, bellies had the right mix of food and water, wax was the best it would be for the icy conditions. We were off to ski the remaining 12K faster than the first 12K.  I tried to savor every kilometer, enjoying rolling track on pristine farmland, curvy descents through birch groves and appreciating that my own strength was making it happen. Certainly I could train more but I was also feeling enormously proud of my daughter who was skiing beautifully,  confidently and without complaints---by next year just might be flying ahead of me so I had better start training now. I could not ask for more. Near the end she said "pretty soon we will be in a nice warm hotel mom," but I responded that I kind of liked it right now, right here! Valentina beat me over the finish line and cheered me on as I double poled one last time on the 2010 Craftsbury Marathon. We finished the course strong and with two very large smiles. Lesson Number 3: The Stars do align more often than we think. We are blessed

At the awards banquet after the race, we discovered that Valentina had come in first for her age group. It was a nice surprise, she won her hand made bowl but the satisfaction was still in completing this event together and that it hopefully will continue to be a mother daughter tradition for many years to come (or at least as long as I can keep up with her). Lesson number 4: Have fun, love what you do. The reward will come.

As a final treat: As one of the GOLD sponsors of the event, Ciclismo Classico donated a trip to the raffle. As Valentina read the number, a young man walked up to claim the 6 DAY Piedmont Biking Tour. I congratulated him and he said to the crowd that he would give it to his mother, the same woman who I had met at breakfast who was dreaming of the tour. I love when that happens! Lesson Number 5: Share the dream and be nice to your mother! 

Seth is My New Year's Resolution Hero!

Just in time for procrastination arrives another nugget of wisdom from my favorite business author, Seth Godin. I read and ponder on his daily posts and share them readily with my colleagues and friends. He always makes me think and his new book hopefully will inspired me to finish my list and focus on some big goals that will make a difference in my life and the world.  Thank you Seth!


This is a guest post from best-selling author and top blogger Seth Godin, author of the new book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?.


Why is it so difficult to ship?
Ship as in get it out the door. Ship as in make a difference at work. Ship as in contribute your art and vision and expertise and passion to the project you’re working on.

Image via Wikipedia

Regular readers of this blog (and of Leo’s life-changing book) have seen first hand what happens when you force the distractions out of your life and focus on what needs to be completed instead. What he has taught us is that when you focus your efforts and energies on things that matter and cut out the stalling and distractions, amazing things happen. It’s absolutely astonishing how much we can accomplish (and insanely disappointing how few people do).
What separates the few who ship from the masses who stumble, stall and ultimately surrender?
The resistance.
Steven Pressfield first wrote about the resistance a few years ago. The resistance is that little voice in the back of your head, the one that tells you that it will never work, the one that insists you check your email one last time, the one that worries that people will laugh at you.
The resistance loves committees and it hates a mission. The resistance creates fear and uncertainty, and it will do almost anything to keep you from being noticed. There’s a biological underpinning to the resistance–your amygdala. The amygdala is the pre-historic portion of your brain, located near the brain stem. It’s responsible for fear and anger and revenge and sex and survival. When the amygdala is aroused, when it feels threatened, when there’s a sense that people might actually laugh at you, it takes over. It rises up in rage and fear and shuts you down.
And so the resistance kicks in. The resistance goes to meetings and plays devil’s advocate (I didn’t know the devil needed an advocate.)
The resistance finds excuses, it makes tasks needlessly complex (or oversimplifies so much that you fail). The resistance uses phrases like, “see, I told you it would never work.” The resistance demands that you study the issue more, or grab a Diet Coke, or go visit those friends who are in from out of town and you won’t be able to see them unless you go right now. The resistance invented yak shaving. The resistance is also responsible for giving you an even better idea just before you finish this one… in fact, the resistance will do anything it can to prevent you from shipping.
Why do little companies get so much more out the door than big ones? Because big companies have committees, groups of people designed to protect the status quo, to prevent failure, to avoid catastrophe. The committee is made up of humans, each of whom is battling her own version of the resistance. “If this ships, my boss will see it, and I might get fired.” “If this ships, a kid might use it, cut of his finger and I might get in trouble.” “If this ships, people are going to think it was my idea, and there’s a chance, just a chance, they might hate it.” Most of all, “if this ships, people might laugh at me.” And so the committee shoots for the lowest common denominator of safety, a product or service or idea that arouses no one’s lizard brain. Which means mediocre. Or late. Or both.
The iPod came from two people, Steve and Jonathan. The Zune came from 250. Which product would you rather own?
The resistance sabotaged my work for years. It pushed me to focus on average topics, delivered in a blameless way, because that felt safer.
So, when others were starting search engines or revolutionizing the online world, I was busy creating sort of ordinary books for sort of ordinary editors who were looking for the next small thing. And no one scolded me for doing this. No one looked at my sort of average work and called me out on it, because they were fighting the very same resistance as I was. It’s surprisingly easy to get through life and make a career out of being average… the resistance would prefer it if you did.
The resistance is powerful, so powerful that all the shortcuts, time savers and focusing tools are powerless in its path. Now you know its name. Now you know how it sneaks in under the radar and sounds quite sensible as it undermines your work and compromises your vision. When the resistance appears, you must call it out. Call it by name. Recognize it for what it is and then defeat it. You will defeat it not by rationalization or even a calm discussion. You will defeat it with single-minded effort, effort so deep and dedicated that it might exhaust you.
Unfortunately, the web is filled with tips and tricks and lists that appear to help you in your quest to shut up the lizard, to defeat the resistance. I say unfortunately because these lists are calm, practical and ultimately ineffective. They are polite in the face of a nefarious enemy, they are rational in the face of screaming insecurity. None of them are working for you because you may not be serious about actually defeating the resistance. It’s fun to procrastinate and comforting to dissemble, because not shipping doesn’t arouse the lizard brain. It’s safe.


Seth Godin is the author of a new book called Linchpin. It’s about recognizing, defeating and ultimately destroying the resistance on the path to doing work that matters. Read more about the book.

Cycling as a Means to Reach Your 2010 New Year's Resolutions

Dear Cycling Friends,

I love the New Year! It is such a great time to wipe the slate clean and start things anew. There is no better time to commit to carpe diem than January!

So many of us make New Year's resolutions but often we lose sight of them. I think the success of your resolutions comes in visualizing the result and by making the goals clear, specific, measurable, realistic and connected to a passion that will get you there. 

Cycling is such a wonderful sport and is a great theme around which your resolutions can revolve. Cycling can inspire every area of our lives: health, travel, family, diet, learning, friends, and even spirituality. Imagine the possibilities if this theme could help you have the best year of your life?

Inspired by our Ciclismo Classico guests, here's my top ten list of cycling-themed resolutions that can help 2010 be the best ever! I've included sample measurable goals as well.

1. Improve overall health & fitness: Ride your bike regularly.  Goal: Set a specific mileage goal for 2010.
2. Enjoy quality time with family: Get your whole family on bikes.  Goal: Take five biking outings with your kids.
3. Connect deeply with old or new friends: Plan your next bicycle tour reunion.  Goal: Call our office and work with our travel consultants to pick two or three Ciclismo tours that you think your friends would like and ask them to join you.
4. Travel more: Take two bicycling vacations this year.  Goal: Plan your dates and dreamy destination by February 1.
5. Make healthy cuisine a habit and lifestyle.  Goal: Get a blender and learn to make healthy smoothies every day for your whole family.
6. Have more fun: Don't take cycling too seriously.  Goal: At least once a month, plan a ride that has nothing to do with speed or distance.
7. Connect and give back to your community and our world.  Goal: Sign up for one charity ride and raise more than the minimum.
8. Learn something new: Learn to fix your bike, lead a bike tour, bicycle through history.  Goal: Take a language or cooking class.
9. Save more money: Save gas money, bike more miles (at least locally) than you drive.  Goal: Start today! Use your bike or feet to do at least one errand per week.  Increase by one errand every month.  By the end of the year, make one day a no-car day.
10. More life balance and spirituality: Cycling as meditation in motion.  Goal: Clip your favorite spiritual passage or poem into your map holder and reflect on it as you ride.
    

If you need help coming up with - and achieving - resolutions this year, check out Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project. It's a wonderful set of resources, including a best-selling book, a blog, and lots of other stuff!

Interested in a "tool box" that will help you fulfill your New Year's Resolutions (which hopefully include more cycling, delicious dinners w/friends, learning something new & lots of wonderful travels)? Check out Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project Blog, toolbox & book that is #2 on the NYT Best Seller List

What are your cycling-themed resolutions? I wish you and your loved ones a most happy, healthy, fun, and cycling-filled 2010!