The Distinctive Coaching Blog has Moved…

Yes, that’s correct. Due to a site reconstruction, we’ve moved.

For more informative, riveting, fascinating, thrilling articles, posts and general know-how on achieving your ideal business, sales, marketing, networking, social networking, productivity, motivation and all things that go into YOUR successful business, please see:

http://www.DistinctiveCoaching.com/Blog-posts

We’ll be waiting there for you . . .

Biz Coach Jason

So much excitement, so little time! :) Keeping my mind on business and getting ready for a “last hurrah” in Mexico

Yep — it’s time again for the 50 mile Rosarito – Ensenada bike ride on Saturday, in MEXICO!!!

This will be my third time participating in the ride (over the last four years, I skipped 2006).  I’ve been training for it, slowly, over the summer.  I hit 50 miles this past Saturday and felt pretty good afterwards.  The toughest part is that 50 miles here is not like 50 miles there.  I don’t have a realistic way here in Chicago in September to train for the grueling uphill climbs and intense heat and sun beating down there in Mexico.  But other than that, I am ready and really excited!

If you check out the website for the ride, you will notice that this is the LAST RIDE for this historic 29-year, semi-annual ride.  I am very sad for that, and I hope that the decision to cancel future rides will be reversed once the economy and travel business pick back up.  I can only assume this is what has led to low participation.

But it got me thinking…

What would you do if you found out that your business only had a year left, then it was being “canceled”?  Would you give up and just relax, maybe not even show up for work?  Would you “train” even harder to make sure the last hurrah was a huge success?  Would you protest, organize and try to save it?

It’s not a perfect analogy, because I didn’t create nor run the Rosarito ride, but it has been something over the past four years that I have enjoyed looking forward to, and training for each year.  And now that this might be (I can’t even bring myself to say “it will be”) the last time I will get to do this, I have even more enthusiasm and excitement to make it a great ride and vacation. 

What if we looked at each opportunity in our business as the last time to do it?  The last time to make a great networking contact; the last time to get in front of a room full of people and provide outstanding information, direction and service; the last time to be of tremendous value to a client…?  How would you approach these “last times” – business as usual or very differently?  Then the obvious question becomes, why not approach every opportunity, interaction and deal as if it were your last? 

Hmmmm…………..

50-mile Mexico bike ride completed! 50 Miles in 4 Hours, 20 Minutes

I got home Monday night from the September 2007 Rosarito-Ensenada 50-mile bike ride.  It was a great adventure and though it wasn’t as physically or mentally grueling as it was the first time I did the ride (two years ago), it was still very satisfying.

Here were the outcomes of my first ride

• Time to complete course, including rest stops: 5 hours, 45 minutes
• How I felt physically after the ride: VERY tired, burnt to a crisp, sore all over especially my legs — they felt like rubber, and I was nauseous.

So based on that, my goals for this ride were

• Time to complete course: 4 hours, 30 minutes.  Done.  Completed in 4 hrs, 20 min.
• To feel MUCH better at the end of the ride.  Done.  Very little soreness, barely a tan, much less a sun burn (used SPF 30 as opposed to last time when I only put on sun screen after it was too late), still had lots of energy and no sickness whatsoever. 

So when is the next ride?  Not sure yet… but I’ll let you know!

Tomorrow I leave for Los Angeles, then on to Mexico!

So the big bike ride is upon us.  As I have been training and preparing, I have ridden as far as 52 miles now in one ride, and I feel ready and excited!

This has been a great training both mentally and physically.  It feels great to be working up to an event that pushes you out of your comfort zone and into new abilities.

I’ll post the final outcome upon my return.

As a refresher, here is the original post with details of the ride: http://distinctivecoaching.wordpress.com/2007/07/29/mexico-here-i-come/

Have a great weekend, everyone!!
Coach Jason

Rosarito Bike Ride training update

I know it’s been too long since I posted an update about my training for the Rosarito-Ensenada bike ride.  Well, after my last posting July and corresponding ride (42 miles), I was hit with a very busy schedule, some vacation travel, had my bike in the shop for a tune-up, and Chicago had A LOT of rain.  With all those factors, I did not have the chance to ride at all for over three weeks.

OK… here’s the coaching value in this post.  Those were all BIG factors, but what it really came down to was that I hadn’t planned out a specific goal with time-bound action steps.

In order to get back on track, I have added ride dates, times and distances to my calendar between now and the ride.  I’ve scheduled three rides and one workout at the gym a week.

Since my conditioning has been almost all wiped out, I started back down at 10 miles, then did 20 miles a few days ago, am doing 30 miles today, and so on…

Another coaching point: What are the obstacles?  Well, my schedule is looking to get ever busier over this time frame.  So I need to make adjustments as I go, and keep very focused on completing my training so I can have the experience that I want when I complete my ride in Mexico.

I will update the blog and keep focused!

Jason

Mexico, here I come!!

On September 29, I am riding in a 50-mile organized bicycle ride in Mexico with a good friend.  The route is from Rosarito Beach to Ensenada, through the hills and valleys and along the oceanside.  My wife and I participated (and finished it) two years ago, and I am training for it again.

 

I rode 42 miles yesterday – from home to the North Branch Bike Trail; north on the trail to the Mile 11 marker; then back.  The muscles just above my knees were twitching just a little bit towards the end of the ride, but otherwise no adverse effects.  Today I feel fine!

I’ve been riding about once a week and adding distance each time.  I think I need to do some shorter rides in between to help strengthen and not over do it on the longer rides.  Finding the time to do it is tough. 

I have been holding that vision of the countryside at the top of the hill and racing down the valley towards the ocean fresh in my mind as motivation.  It was truly an incredible experience, and I can’t wait to do it again. 

Also, this time, I will be better trained and in better physical fitness, so I should enjoy it that much more.

More to come on my preparation . . .