COACH YOU BLOG
VISIONS, GOALS AND BUMPS
30/7/2013
Do you have a vision of what you want? Is it written down or captured in some way? Not just a business plan but what attaining that vision will bring you? Do you imagine yourself achieving it daily? It’s never too late to have a new vision, to set your goals to achieve it and make it happen.
As many of you may know I learned to row last year, aged 47! Never a sporty person, I bunked off “Games” wherever possible to rehearse something theatrical. In adult life, a number of expensive unattended gym memberships nearly had me joining the army to get fit! Keep fit, yogalates, zumba, tap dancing, salsa – I’ve tried them all but most were followed by a donut or a visit to the pub! And so I have been shocked and amazed at how much I have fallen in love with rowing! I loved it from my very first outing, despite managing to fall in the river in early April before my official capsize test but just after we’d watched the video (I am so suggestible!)
My sole goal was to row in the Cambridge Town Bumps which take place over four nights every July. For the uninitiated, The Bumps are a set of ancient races where eighteen Eights (that’s a crew of eight sweep oar rowers and a cox) line up on the Cam, a length and a half apart. A canon fires and each crew rows as fast as they can to catch and bump the crew in front and hopefully avoid being bumped by the crew behind. It is not for the faint-hearted – terribly exciting to watch and terrifying to row! (Remember being chased upstairs by your Dad? Squealing, going as fast as you can but getting giggly, limp and out of breath – that’s what I was afraid of!) I watched the Isle of Ely 2012 crew getting sopping wet in the rain and being bumped down the division every night. Nevertheless I was determined to be in the boat the following year.
I trained twice a week over the winter (yes in the fen snow, ice, wind and rain, over that very long winter) and up to four times a week this summer. Our men’s crew broke our poor old, patched-up Eight and so we had to train in Pairs and Fours for months, only borrowing a boat for the Bumps week itself.
I would regularly find myself waking up mentally practicing rowing technique. Little did I imagine that I would be put at Stroke (setting the pace for the crew) with two GB rowers behind me and a GB oarsman coxing and coaching every race. We got weeds in our rudder the first night and narrowly avoided crashing into grassy corner. Managed to avoid getting caught in the following two nights despite my massive crab, losing my seat and getting friction burns from sliding up and down on my bottom (who needs Christian Grey!) We finally got a bump on the last night! It was an incredible experience and huge learning for me and the rest of the crew. Technique and fitness improved dramatically and I dropped two dress sizes, all because I wanted to be in the boat!
Steve Redgrave in his autobiography talks of wanting to win an Olympic medal: fulfilling his potential to be the best in the world. He held that vision from his teens and worked relentlessly to achieve it, which he did of course, five times over!
You too can make your vision happen … get clear on what you want and design a structure to help you stay connected to your vision. Set small goals along the way and work towards it. Keep imagining yourself having achieved it … living in that moment: enjoying everything that your success brings and embracing the unexpected!
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