Variety is the spice of life

Go on admit it, we all love a good motivational quote or two! When I go into visit the teachers I work with I enjoy looking at their classroom displays, many highlighting their own visions and those of their pupils.

I still receive the weekly email from my Loughborough athletics coach Bill each Sunday, standard format each week; starts with a well done/recent race results section, then the weekly training and finally a “something to think about” section. Which often includes some inspiring quotes from famous sporting/non sporting personalities. Here are a few of my favourites;

“It is impossible to be a winner without deep personal courage and hard effort.” Halie Gebrselassie

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Eliot

“We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act but a habit” Aristotle

But personally even though I love the fighting words, war cries, chest pumped out, head held high about to do battle style inspirational words I also just love the simple “Let’s just chill out and just have fun!”.

This guy has the right idea, Chill out, enjoy.

The last few weeks can be summed up by phrases “Have fun” and “Variety is the Spice of Life”. Four races in the last two week are summarised in pictures.

Jack Bloor Fell race Tues 14^th May 

“Don’t worry suz, it’s only like a cross country race” Greg Hull, lying through his teeth…. But it was great fun! (Photos curtesy of Ian Furlong)

Yorkshire Cycle Road Championships,  Sun 19^th  May

Half way round lap 2 of penny pot circuit, my whole Left crank and pedal fell off…one legged circling it was until some kind supporters came to my rescue with an Allen key. Never had a DNF, didn’t want to start now, despite being 10 minutes down due to the mechanical. A group of guys lapped me, I hung on to their wheels and got dragged round the final lap, catching a few girls for 12^th and 4 points! Well worth not dropping out.

(Photos from British Cycling Photographers. Left the start, Right winning Lady Jessie Walker)

Alba Rosa Crit Races, Dishforth Sat 25^th May . 

Friday evening at 10pm I was round at Richards house getting my still dodgy left crank fixed! Never doubt the Gates mechanics, second time RG has fixed my bike at the 11^th hour! All I had left was several plates of sarnies to make for Alba Rosa food stall, race prep finished 1am sat morning. Great turn out of girls for the 1^st ever Alba Rosa Crit races, 3^rd for me and first prize money of the year and 10 points which means i move up a category, to Cat 3 status. Well done to Adam on completing his first race- two tired and happy cyclists and very successful day for ARCC.

Photo by Timmy Pinder

Wetherby Olympic distance Triathlon Mon 27^th May. 

Fuelled by Adam’s mum’s fantastic roast dinner and a spot of canoeing in Newark on the Sunday, I was ready for the 13 degree river! Great local race, lots of training partners in attendance and great support. 2^nd for me, behind the super speedy swimmer Jess Learnmonth (a name to watch). Photo by Simon Deakin

So quite a variety of races, keeps it interesting, fun and at £3 a race, fell races have got to be best value!

Enjoy whatever races and events you all have lined up in the coming weeks

I is for Inspiration....

My inspirations don't come from outer space, they just come to me. I have no idea why they come when they do.- Joe Satriani

Inspiration seems to be the word of the moment .The teachers I work with have only 7 weeks left of the academic year. Many conversations revolve around how we, can inspire pupils to keep going, in the final push before their exams.

When grappling with the idea of how to inspire unmotivated pupils. I started thinking about what inspires me. Recently some days have been pretty hectic and often I get asked “How do you do it? What motivates you to wake up early, train, work and train some more?”

One Wednesday a few weeks ago went something like this; 5.45am alarm, cycle 30mins from home to pool, swim for 1hr, quick change back into cycle gear, cycle 20mins pool to train station, train Leeds to London involving changing into work clothes in train toilet (trickier task than I imagined!) spend the day in London with work, 5pm train London to Leeds, cycle home, 8pm me and Adam enjoy a 2hour cycle ride into the setting sun, 9.59pm grab food from Asda for dinner (always a nice feeling sneaking in before shop door closes), quick stretch, 10.30pm we cook dinner and wonder how it has got to 10.30? finally collapse into bed. Now I feel I have got my money’s worth from the day!

So how do I do it? Yes it looks crazy when I write it down! BUT I love it, I love getting out on the bike, especially at this time of year and especially with great company. I love feeling I am getting the most out of the day. OK so the above is not sustainable, day after day, after day and thankfully this is not the norm. However most days do start early with a pre breakfast swim and finish with more training with work sandwiched in between. So what’s the secret? I am constantly inspired by people and places around me.

I hope the following pictures of the last few weeks  highlight who and what has inspired me recently.

1) Reconnecting with old friends always leaves me on a high, inspired and motivated hearing all their latest adventures and antics and being surrounded by their positivity. I spent a weekend in the Peak District with the “Lufbra Slow twitch girls” my fantastic Loughborough university friends. We ran, swam (well sort of!) laughed, ate, drank (a lot) of tea, sang (some better than others) and inspired each other.

2) Seeing training partners achieve great results is hugely inspiring. Susan Partridge was 1st British athlete and qualified for the World Champs with 2.30 in the London Marathon and Jos Payne was 3^rd lady in huge pb of 2.46 in the Manchester Marathon. I have had the honour of training with these tough lasses over the last year and have seen the hard work they have put in. They both optimise “hard graft” and “picking yourself up after a knock back”. Well done Jos and Susan. Leeds is a great place to train, with so many world class triathletes. The Leeds squad have started the season on fire with Alistair winning San Diego WTS , Non grabbing second spot and Jonny winning Yokohama WTS. It is great training alongside these guys, I don't feel so bad when I get chewed up and spat out on Thursday evening chain gang as these guys set the pace. However "run over by a bus" I feel, I know they will be at the pool the next morning pounding out the lengths so it motivates me to struggle out of bed and put the swim costume on (again). Click on the names to see highlights videos of their races. Well done guys, I think another triathlon season will be dominated by the Leeds squad.

3) For inspiration, you can’t beat summer cycling in gorgeous places. We spent a weekend in the Lake District cycling the Team Townend push bike challenge. Taking on Honister Pass was a challenge but views from the top were worth it! Evening riding heading north from Leeds has been a pleasure, flowers are out, trees are in full bloom and sun sets have been beautiful.

4) New places, new people and my mum; a combination that never fails to inspire! I spent a weekend in Shropshire with my mum at the YHA there. An amazing old manor house with spiral staircase, Hogwarts style dining room and characterful people.  I love Youth Hostels as they are full of character and attract many interesting people. Spending time with my mum is always a pleasure and she is my biggest inspiration.

5) 1^st triathlon of the year has been completed and provided plenty of motivation for the season ahead. Kendal Sprint Triathlon was the day after Team Townend Ride, so fitted in well as I was already in the Lake District. The weather was grim, with a capital G! Lashing rain, windy with a Baltic chill, I used socks as gloves and rode in a rain jacket (past experiences have taught me well!) It was inspiring to see so many people competing and supports out on the course braving the elements. It was a lot of fun, a 2^nd place was good way to kick start the season, though swimming a few extra lengths definitely wasn't in the plan and probably denied me of the win.

So from the Lake District, Shropshire, Peak District and local hills in Yorkshire, the people and places I have cycled, run and swum with in recent weeks have provided plenty of inspiration to keep me motivated and going even on the busiest of days. 

A few gems:

- Here is my favourite inspirational video a sure way to provide motivation!

- I love sports photos, these cycle photos by kristof Ramon are brilliant.
- Half the Road: The passion, pitfalls & power of Women's professional cycling is a documentary about the world of women's professional cycling. But it is more than that...watch the trailer here

I hope you all find your own inspiration and it keeps the fire burning inside you.

Aye Lass That's Character Building!

How many times have you been in a tough physical or mental situation and someone has said to you "It's character building". But what does that mean?

I am a big fan of Paul Tough’s book “How children succeed: Grit, curiosity and the hidden power of character”. Tough summarises the large array of research showing how those who develop non cognitive skills (grit, conscientiousness, determination, growth mindset et al) become more successful individuals than those who focus on cognitive skills (IQ, spelling, grammar, times tables etc.) NB success is defined by a number of factors; wellbeing, economic stability, in a loving relationship, not being on welfare etc.

The theme of this blog is "character" I will choose a number of Tough’s non cognitive character skills and link them to what I have been up to over the last few weeks. Some maybe tedious links!

1) Conscientiousness is  defined as “ is the inclination to try one’s best regardless of whether or not there is an external reward attached to what one is doing, and regardless of how boring or mundane the task itself is” (Tough 2012)

“You know how well training is going, by the amount of washing you are doing”

Trainers, run kit, bike kit, swimming towels, bike and me, one long list of constant scrubbing!

After a long ride in the cold, you just want to collapse, never such luck when you know the bike needs a clean, especially a nice muddy mountain bike! I have been taught well by John Potter!










2) Self Control. Walter Mischel’s famous Marshmallow Test in the late 60s and early 70s showed positive correlation between self control & later life success. The Marshmallow test saw child given a marshmallow and told “you can eat it now or wait till I come back in and if it’s not eaten you can have another marshmallow” Children who could wait 15 minutes for the researcher to re-emerge without eating the marshmallow were  found to have range of positive outcomes later in life.

Self control can also be seen as patience, something I have struggled with in recent weeks! Especially in races. The Salford 10k on Easter Friday being a case in point, it ended with me sat on the pavement at the 3km mark having blown up big time having been carried away too early on and running way too quick! After a slight mental and physical breakdown sat on the pavement, I got up, jogged and then finished the race, with my ego bruised but a valuable lesson learnt.

“Suz don’t do too much work on the front,  just sit in” Lee shouts at me as I get carried away  during my first Bike Crit race at Salt Ayre in Lancaster. I had a lot of fun in my first Crit race, cornering elbow to elbow at 20mph, now I just need to get the quads to allow me to sprint the last 50m!

3) Grit. Also known as “perseverance”. Researched extensively by Angela Duckworth, who believed that grit may be an important factor in success simply by observing the way many highly successful people display “a passionate commitment to a single mission and an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission” Duckworth’s research found Grit scores are highly predictive of success. An example: students at University of Pennsylvania  who had high grit scores but who had entered university with relatively low high school academic scores achieve higher degree scores, than those who started with  higher academic scores but lower "grit" scores. 

There has been a lot of "grit" on show, by everyone who has been training and racing through the never ending Baltic British winter! Massive high fives!

A few pictures of the last few weeks, I will let you decide what my “Grit” score should be.

                                   A very Siberian like ride with Alba Rosa!

                       The snow drifts on many rides have been pretty impressive!

A little trick to keep the feet warm and dry. Socks, food bags, socks and shoes perfect! A shame I didn’t have ski goggles, would have been handy during that run session as I felt blinded by the wind wiping the snow right into my face. At least Coach Townsend provided hot coffee afterwards.

Possibly the least appropriate attire I have raced in! Dambuster Duathlon, British Age group championships. Sub zero temperatures with a nice wind chill and I wear tri suit and arm warmers “I could get warm on the run” but where was my thinking for sitting on the bike for 40km! Despite being very close to hypothermia  and turning blue I hung on for 2nd.

It has been a busy last few weeks, a few race successes; 2nd in the British Age group Duathlon Championships (25-29 cat), 6^th in the British Elite Duathlon Champs (behind Olympian Lucy Hall and a collection of Pro's), finishing in the bunch sprint at my 1st Crit  bike race. Some failures;  blowing up in Salford 10km, getting clothing wrong for Dambuster British AG Duathlon. Some great training sessions, where you fly, combined with some tough training sessions, where you think you may possibly drown in the pool as your arms give up on you. One thing is for definite there has never been a dull moment!

 I will leave you with a few treats:

- A piece written by a friend that I guarantee will have you laugh out loud! click here

-An awesome video made by Igloo builder extraordinaire Adam, showing highlights of our igloo building exploits, shows how we spend our time when it is snowy!

Happy racing and training and Good luck to everyone in developing your own character traits!

Life is sweeter with friends to run and bike with!

Collaboration and Community are two words that pop up a lot. Two reasons why I love sport.

Community “a group of people living in the same place or having certain attitudes or interests in common.

Collaboration “the action of working with someone to produce something”

While driving between West Yorkshire schools, I was listening to a radio discussion around “The Sunday Assembly”, a non-religious gathering set up by comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans in North London, an opportunity for anybody searching for a sense of community, to meet, sing, hear speakers and generally create a community around shared experience. Many callers were praising the Sunday assembly as providing non-religious people with a community.

“People don’t have a sense of community?” I thought out loud! How bizarre

I then realised how fortunate I have been to have had sport at the centre of my life, it acts as the glue in creating close knit communities.

I could chat away for hours retelling stories and antics from the various clubs and training groups I have been involved in, but well I now realise what a tough job being a writer is, I mean where do you start! So instead I will use a selection of pictures from the last few weeks to summarise how important community and collaboration is for me personally in enjoying sport and achieving my best. Something I am sure people can relate to in all different context’s not just sport.

17^th Feb- Otley Reliability ride, 100k from Otely looping out to Kettlewell and back. Around 300 riders took to their bikes to enjoy the day. Creating a great atmosphere and community feel. Picture below shows how we dominated the roads! (and this was just the front section!). Read more here (photo:cycleSportPhotos.com) 

Café stops have been plentiful recently and very well received! Especially on cold Sunday mornings. A few pictures from Alba Rosa Cycle club rides in recent weeks. Team bonding happens over a brew and scrambled eggs. You can check out Alba Rosa here.

Conversation in Aug 2011…    

London Friend “So Suz, your moving to Leeds, who do you know?”                                                              Me “ummm… no one”                                                                                                                                   London friend “ So let me get this right, your moving to Leeds and you don’t know anyone?”                                                                                                                                                    Me “Yeah I guess that’s right…but it will be fine, I will meet people”                                                                                           

Why was I confident I would be OK? Well that’s the beauty of sport, it brings like minded people together. Over the last few years I have moved around a fair bit, Loughborough, Mary Land (USA), London and Leeds. Each time joining a sports club has provided me with a community that acts as a second family. The other weekend was Leeds and Bradford Triathlon Club’s annual awards night and what a great night that really highlighted this. It was also a real honour to be voted Female Triathlete of the year, so thank you for all those who voted. Also this weekend, LBT got voted top club in the country at the 220 Triathlon Awards. Lets hear a big Whoop!

World No 16 Pro Triathlete David McNamee presenting me with Female Triathlete of the year. David and Non were a great comedy duo! Thanks guys.

A story of recent collaboration . Richard has become Alba Rosa Cycle Clubs bike repair man with the help of his son Sam and wife Alison. I took my bike round to the Gates House aka bike workshop for a “service” in time for next weekend’s Dambuster Duathlon race. Well looks like the winter miles have given the bike a bit more of a beating than I realised, thanks to the Gates family bike service, new parts have been ordered are being collected and fitted all in an effort to get my bike race ready! THANK YOU!

Winter miles in Baltic conditions have caused a bit of wear and tear on the old bike!

Well done to everyone who braved the cold and mud at the English National Cross Country Championships last weekend in Sunderland. I love nationals as you always bump into so many running friends from around the country, at points I had to remind myself I was there to race and not just have a nice social! You can read more about the race from the point of view of Women's winner and a former Loughborough Uni buddy Louise Damen on her blog here.

During and Post nationals! 43rd/427 at English National XC Champs for me, my highest national placing in senior race to date. We all scrubbed the mud off and celebrated Leeds city Men's silver team medal with curry and beers!

The theme of this blog post “Community and collaboration” is particularly apt as we say farewell to Alex Warburton, a ARCC member who cycled the Otley reliability ride and who’s company I had the pleasure of enjoyed on several café stops during the winter. Tragically Alex suffered a heart attack following the Otley ride, I know at his funeral the cycling community will be there to say good bye and RIP.

These stories highlight the importance of community, It is the people, the friends and friendships more than the exercise or the challenge that is at the heart of sport.  Chris McCormack (multiple world triathlon champ) sums this up brilliant in this interview “In the last few years I have really began to ask myself and others not what brought me to triathlon, but what has kept me here. The answer is, unequivocally, the people."

We always hear "The internet has changed the way the world works". It has provided many communities. Here are some of my favourites you can find on twitter @Sportistblog @eightlane @WomenSportTrust @Starva and of course @AlbaRosaCC

"We run a lot of miles, but it is important to take our friends with us along the way. The road will be a sweeter path." (From @runningquotes)

He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't

He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't. This is an inexorable, indisputable law. ~Pablo Picasso

Being British let’s start by talking about the weather. It’s been challenging!  Mother Nature has been throwing everything at us; it’s as if she wants to make training as hard as possible with snow, plunging Arctic temperatures, storms, gale force winds, rain, hail and on the odd occasion sun!

Typical cross country last weekend! Northern XC Champs, Knowsley, 29th/217 and Leeds city 3rd team. Thanks Jerry Watson for the photo.

This little weather report leads nicely into the idea of Mindset. To overcome this challenging weather a growth mindset has been vital.  A key feature of my work with Teach First and as an athlete is to develop my own growth mindset.

Mindset is defined as “mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations.”

I am a huge fan of the work by Matthew Syed, author of "Bounce" and Psychologist Carol Dweck, author of “Mindset: The Psychology Of Success” . Both have influenced a lot of my thinking. The main idea is mindset can be seen on a continuum with growth mindset on one hand and fixed mindset on the other. We can move up and down the continuum depending on the context. For myself I am Growth mindset with a capital G in some instances, such as believing I can develop athletic ability but in other instances I naturally fall into fixed mindset such as believing I can improve my mathematical or musical ability. In these instances I have to remind myself the growth mindset ideas.

It seems al so logical…..yet so many people use phrases such as

“They are a born swimmer” or “She is such a talented runner” or “He is naturally gifted”

NO NO NO all the scientific evidence around cognitive science, malleable intelligence point to these assumptions about “being born with a gift” completely false. We become good at certain things due to hard work, taking on challenging activities and failing, seeing failure as a chance to learn and constant practice.

I would argue that Mo Farah, became a double Olympic gold medallist in London 2012 because he has developed a growth mindset, he has worked very, very hard at training to improve his athleticism as a distance runner, he has learnt from failure, he constantly practices his trade. Now what’s to say if at age 12 Mo instead of putting effort into running painted a picture at school and the art teacher really praised his effort and that encouraged him to paint every day and learn from with artistic failures, who knows maybe he could have ended up as an artist with a painting hanging in Tate Modern.

For me to develop a growth mindset and to hold this at the forefront of my mind is crucial to me achieving my vision and goals as an athlete.

These pictures sum up growth mindset aka the “I can attitude” perfectly.

Find of the week:

A great article linking mindset, sport, psychology and education is by Matt Dale, enjoying reading it here (Thanks to my boss Liz for sending me this).
Also i love this video, for it's sense of possibility and optimising growth mindset.