Episode 254: A Smart Approach To Measuring Success In Your Performance Journey
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Whether your goal as an athlete is to win a race or simply cross the finish line, it can often feel as though the only measure of success is race results. Every event is seemingly a pass-or-fail test reducing your performance journey to one athletic performance.
But how do you move beyond race day and embrace the entire Journey? How do you effectively gauge your improvement and progress?
In this episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon provides a framework for measuring improvement beyond the validation of a single race performance.
Matt provides a mindset built around key principles that will help you re-engage with your performance journey and provide an opportunity for you to place the focus on areas that will yield long-term success.
Episode Timestamps
00:00 - 5:34 - Welcome and Episode Introduction
05:41 - 8:58 - Matt's News-ings
09:06 - 45:22 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 254: A Smart Approach To Measuring Success In Your Performance Journey
Lauren Fleshman - Interview and Book Signing at The Purple Patch Center
Free Live Webinar - Optimize your IRONMAN and 70.3 Performance as a Time-Starved Athlete
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The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit
Purple Patch Coaching Consultation
Purple Patch and Episode Resources
This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20
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Full Transcript
Matt Dixon 00:03
I'm Matt Dixon and welcome to the Purple Patch podcast. The mission of Purple Patch is to empower and educate every human being to reach their athletic potential. Through the lens of athletic potential, you reach your human potential. The purpose of this podcast is to help time-starved people everywhere, integrate sport into life.
Matt Dixon 00:25
All right, folks, today's show is all about becoming your best self and how to actually measure your success along that journey. So often, we just get drawn into race results, it is the be-all and end-all. But ultimately, is that really the healthiest and optimal way of measuring improvement? Today, we're going to broaden our perspective a little bit, so that you can really embrace the journey and ultimately find your best self. But while we're speaking about your best self, there is a route for you to actually become a little bit more strategic and a bit more sensible along that journey by taking a look inside. By measuring your biometrics and combining it with the insights and advice from the team of experts at InsideTracker, you can get really precise around the focus for you individually, so that you can yield the performance pattern and start to become better yourself. We use it at Purple Patch with our athletes, and the great thing about it is it delivers measurable gains. So not only do you actually get a little bit of focus around where you're placing your emphasis in nutrition, supplements, recovery, training, stress reduction, and more. But on top of it, you can actually gain insights in subsequent sessions so that you can actually realize I am actually improving my platform of performance. It is InsideTracker. And guess what you don't need to be a Purple Patch athlete to leverage, all you have to do is head to insidetracker.com/purplepatch. That's insidetracker.com/purplepatch, and use this special sneaky code PurplePatchPro20, that's Purple Patch Pro two zero and that will give you 20% off everything at the store. I would encourage you all right. Now with that, shall we do it? This one's a goodie, today. It's a lot of fun, but it's also going to be useful. Let's get ready for the show.
Matt Dixon 02:20
And welcome to the Purple Patch podcast. As ever, your host, Matt Dixon. Let's frame things out a little bit to start today. You choose a goal, a race. Registration to that race makes it official, and I'm sure it's excitement, and nerves all combined into one. There's no getting away from it. Now you are really doing this thing. The training journey begins and you ramp up focus and effort and there's just so much to consider. You need to dial in the perfect training plan, managing that plan within the constraints of your life commitments. There are of course, equipment choices, daily nutrition, hydration, fueling plans for racing, and on and on and on it goes. And of course, as race day actually gets closer, you start to feel that vice tightening the nerves are amplifying. I hope I don't have a bad day. What if it doesn't go well? By the end of it so often, many people just feel I can't wait for this damn thing to be over. And for many folks, race day comes and it sort of passes in a blur. It's often a period or phase, a few days that are just full of tension and nerves. It feels like a test, pass fail, good, bad. Do I succeed? Or am I a failure? Am I a failure?
Matt Dixon 03:46
Whether the goal is to win or simply cross the finish line, it just becomes a simple pass-fail test. And after it's done, win, lose, or draw. It can leave you sometimes just feeling empty. And the masochist in us of course we go and do it again. And like a pinball, we just train from race to race to race, each one of them these singular events in which we are going to win or lose. We pass or we are failures. But does it have to be like this? Is your single-day performance, the only barometer of success and progression? In the bigger picture, the answer is absolutely no. And so today, what I hope to do is to share a new perspective, one that actually aligns with your long-term development. It's something that we talked about so so much on this show, one actually synchronizes with progression, growth, and development, a Purple Patch we all encourage always encourage athletes to embrace the journey. That is a mantra that we always have. But how do you do that -- embrace the journey -- When you are simply treating each individual race as a simple pass-fail test? It doesn't resonate. It doesn't make sense. So the best thing that you can do is really embrace this mindset that I reveal today. And I think not only where you get to enjoy the journey more, but those races, well actually you're probably going to get better results in them as well, you're going to get a true indication of global progression. And so today, join me because it's a liberating one. It's a fun one, but I think it's actually going to really help you. But before we dive into the nuts and bolts -- the meat and potatoes, why don't we do Matt's News-ings, we've got a couple of important things to tell you.
Matt Dixon 05:41
Yes, folks, a couple of crackers for you. The first one very important one that we're going to get to it straight away. It is literally on launch day of this podcast and so it's a last-minute reminder, February 15. Are you seeking to crack the code of Ironman or half Ironman while of course juggling the rigors and logistics of life? So what we label a time-starved athlete, and I'm sure you're listening to the show or watching the show today as a time-starved athlete, well guess what, cracking the Ironman code while having a busy life. It's something that we're pretty darned experienced in. And so I am hosting a free webinar. Now if you listen to the show, and you feel like oh, I missed it, I missed it by day, I missed it by a week, whatever it might be, don't worry, you can reach out to us at info@purplepatchfitness.com, we will send you the recording. But this webinar is live it is free, it is open to all. And I am going to outline a blueprint so that you can excel and show up to your races fit and fresh. And of course not compromising on your health work or life, you really can have it all. If you can't attend live or if you're a little late on today's show and you've already missed it. Simply register, and we'll send you the show link, we'll also add it into the show notes and we will send the recording to you so you don't have to miss out on everything. If you do get to attend live, there's ample time for q&a and a little chance to dig deeper. Effectively, you can ask me any questions that you might have. And so feel free to invite your friends. It's open to anyone, not just purple patch athletes, and I think it should be a cracker. Now, the second one that we've got today, and this is a good one for those folks that are in the Bay Area, you feel like a little in-person action? Well, I've got a special one for you. It's a very special night that we're hosting at the Purple Patch Performance Center. We actually have Lauren Fleshman joining us live. And I even hear rumbles that Jesse Thomas is going to be in attendance as well. We've got a host of other guests as well, it is March the first we're going to start with a social hour. And then we're going to do a discussion with Lauren and myself. And then a book signing afterward with her New York Times best seller now, I'm very proud of her for achieving that big landmark. Good for a girl. You've heard the show. You've heard our discussion on here. We are going to go deep in that discussion and you'll have plenty of time to hang out and ask Lauren any questions that you have. It is March the first, it's 5 pm. We're going to add all of the details in the show notes. But here's the key thing about this evening, we are going to hold back. And we are only going to limit attendance to 50 guests. So the first 50 that RSVP for this very intimate night with Lauren. Those are the folks that are going to get in. And so I would jump on the bandwagon. It's going to be a very special occasion. You can register via the link in the show notes. San Francisco March the first at the Purple Patch Performance Center. And I'm going to label this one a do not miss and I think that you're going to agree. All right. Let's march on. We've got a goodie today. And we are going to get cracking with Barry. Let's do it. No ukulele this week. It is all about your best self, measuring success and I would say an enhanced mindset. It is The Meat and Potatoes
Matt Dixon 09:06
Folks, it is The Meat and Potatoes. Let me tell you this. Second place is the first loser. I don't care what happens as long as I win. Winning is everything. Is it really? Winning is everything. Is that why we're doing this? It's simply a tool to validate yourself as a human being? Look, don't get me wrong when I start today's discussion. I loved and I mean, L-O-V-E-D, I loved it when Tim Reed won the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. I was incredibly proud when Mohamed Lahna out of nowhere got a medal at the Paralympics when Meredith Kessler repeated as a U.S. pro champion and all of the other countless victories that were achieved, under my guidance, with the Purple Patch pros. I frickin love winning. I'm ambitious. And I'm competitive. And it's great. And of course, I understand that as you take on your journey and you sign up and register for your first marathon or try and qualify to the Hawaii, Ironman, or whatever it might be, that ticks the box for you. Race performance, of course, can be a wonderful source of inspiration. And if it goes well, you get great pride and satisfaction. It is one of the joys of sport, putting your mind into something, and then absolutely knocking it out of the park with a wonderful personal performance. It's rewarding, it's fun. It is, in many ways, the joy of sport. But while we acknowledge that, and we love inspiring performances, it isn't, or at least it shouldn't be the only measure of progression, particularly when we think about it over the long term. When we think about the real purpose, that taking on an athletic journey really provides in broader life. And when we think about individual growth, development, improvement, and all of the lessons and benefits that come from that, a part of the reason that sport is so compelling, is that the truth is that great results don't often happen by accident. There's commitment required, there's good actions consistently applied, and out of that emerge great results. But equally, there's nearly always in competition, whether it's games, or whether it's race, it's Jeopardy, there's a whole bunch of things that can just provide setbacks, can lead to a bad result for one reason or another. So there's a whole host of elements that are in our control. At the same time, there's so many things that are out of our control. It's a bit like life, isn't it? And so that's a part of the appeal coming back is trying to solve the solution. Trying to eradicate risk, try and optimize potential at the same time knowing that things can happen. effect if you're just an English soccer fan, you might know the great saying that comes with the burden of being an English soccer fan. And that is, it is the hope that kills you. And in many ways, that's such a pure way to look at sport, you can do everything right. And ultimately, shit can happen. And so it doesn't make sense to me that our own any measure of success is win or lose, or pass or fail, or a good race or a bad race. In fact, that amplifies when we think about why we are doing the sport. And so today, my hope is that we expand our perspective a little bit. And I'm going to frame things in a slightly different way. It's the way that we look at athlete development over the long term.
Matt Dixon 13:02
So let's frame things. And I think there are a few key principles that we want to go through so that we can then move to the measurable side of things. Let's talk about athletic performance globally. The primary driver for the most successful athletes is nearly always rooted in purpose. In fact, the best athletes that I've worked with have nearly always got a deep appreciation of why they are committing themselves to the performance journey. And it doesn't matter the level of athletes, but it's the ones that stick with it, that get the best rewards ultimately relative to their level and goals, and the most successful purpose is a driver. So that's an important thing to remember when we frame out today's discussion. A second component is let's talk about the highest achieving athletes that I've worked with the very best athletes the most successful are the ones that have two things really, the first is a joy, a love of competition, and racing, you've got to be a racer if you're really going to achieve Of course, and we all get a buzz off of that the best absolutely love that they lean into the competition, the fight the challenge in that super. But equally, the very best folks that I work with are driven more by self-improvement. In fact, if you ask them, Why do you do this? The universal question is, I want to find out how good I can be. It isn't. I want to try and win a World Championships I want to qualify to the Boston Marathon. It's I want to find out how good I can be. And then when it is authentic, is the driver and typically flowing behind that. Riding in the winds that that creates are the results are the qualifications are the victories. So that focus around purpose becomes a really, really important factor. When you start to think about long-term development, great.
Matt Dixon 15:04
The second component is about ultimate success. When we think about an athlete journey, any success at any level, it is never achieved in the short term. The truth is that if you want to be successful, and you want to have enduring success in which you keep getting better, it is going to be a long-term commitment. There is no short-term fix, there is no hacking here. The only way that you can be successful is by committing an integrating sport into whatever life you have in your other commitments over many, many months, if not many years, that's the more common component so that you can grow towards the outcome of seeing how good you can really be. Relative to your level, it doesn't matter. This isn't about elite sport, this is about the most successful athletes. And so straightaway, that embrace the journey, when we combine those two components, it starts to emerge, why that is such an important component. And so under that journey's banner, when we think about racing or an individual race, they are fantastic. They're great to have, they act as goals. So you have something to point towards a compass to build a program around stair-stepping all the way to show up to race day. So goals or races are really important as goals. But ultimately, when we think about the purpose, and we think about the realization that this journey takes many months, if not many years, it is simply any individual race, no matter how much importance it has to you. It is simply a stepping stone towards your greater purpose along the journey along the pathway of the journey. And that's where races fit. And so it is under this framework, that we should try and build our measures of success. So when we talked about today, win, lose, second place is the first loser, all of those components, it disintegrates into ash, it doesn't make any sense. Because yes, while a failure or a race can be disappointing, there are more ways in which we can measure success along the journey to ultimately deliver you to being the very best that you can be, which in turn, will promise over the long term better race performances. So as soon as we narrow it down, as soon as we get into that pass/fail mindset defining the test of the whole program success anchored around a single individual day, all it does is amplify an athlete's fear. In fact, quite often, the anxiety and fear can bubble up to where it actually impairs performance on that day. And equally, it can cloud other measures that are available to us that are equally important to growth over the long term. But it can cloud those, it can actually push those down and relegate them to afterthoughts where the athlete just feels like, oh, it's bad, I'm a failure. And the net result of that, but it destroys enjoyment. It evaporates motivation. And in fact, if you just have a couple of unlucky races or poor turn of events, it can lead to people leaving the sport. The good news is that the shift is really simple. Just need to broaden your vision a little bit. And most importantly, by stepping back and diffusing that pass/fail mindset. It doesn't reduce your race day performance potential. I'm not talking about not worrying about whether your race well, in fact, I've seen this many times that by broadening out your lens, it liberates you to have more fun, more enjoyment, to not see your race days as a pass/fail, but instead enables you to have a reduction of anxiety and fear and in turn, allow your trained potential to meet race day performance. And that's ultimately what we're after. And so what we're talking about today, isn't trying to not worry about racing, it's actually a means to an ends to amplify your race performance.
Matt Dixon 19:41
And so let's very simply just go through some of the areas that we tend to review at Purple Patch as opportunities for progression. Now, I should say as I go through these, we never nail all of these over the course of a training block or cycle into the race, even a year. We're never actually improving all these at the same time. That's not what happens with performance. You might build one and stay or maybe even regress or another. But having this 360-degree view of performance progression enables you to be a little bit more objective, to draw lessons and apply for future growth, and ultimately, over the long term, become a better-performing athlete. And you don't have to be that smart to take this model to take this lens and apply it to anything else in life. Now, this is a very simple list today, it's pretty short. But the quest ultimately at the center of this is your best self. So remember that -- it's not go and qualify for your PR, it's not to try and win your age group at the Hawaii Ironman or whatever it might be. That's a goal, that's a stepping stone. What we're looking for here is a driving purpose for you to become your best self. And that can mean very different things to different people -- super. And so I would argue that this is athletically, but also in a broader perspective, is going to amplify how you improve your health, how you show up with your friends, how you amplify your work, and your performance at the workplace, et cetera. High performance means that you need to be robust, resilient, adaptable, you need to be moldable. And if we are going to help you become all of those traits, as a human being across your sport, but also life, we have to take this type of approach to measure success.
Matt Dixon 21:45
So let's begin. And let's come right back to the start. All right, so it's one component, and we'll put it at the top, but it's a circle, so therefore, there is no top, but we'll put it at the top. Let's begin racing. That's number one. This is a part of our wheel around you becoming Hub and Spoke type model, you becoming your best self racing results do provide a measure, let's not run away from it. And so these are important, they're valuable, they're helpful. They also provide a measuring step or stick of components to maybe review our program if things don't go well, or build on our program if things are successful. And as I mentioned before, they can be great elements of joy and satisfaction. So it doesn't matter whether it's winning an Olympic medal, or successfully trying to cross your first finish line, beating a PR whatever it might be, we have to acknowledge as a part of this, races do provide a measure of success. So we begin with that. So that is just one component of many that we are going to go through. Now, this is where we get to expand our mindset. Here is my broader list with context. And I should point out, these are not in a hierarchy, these are in no particular order. So as we break apart this model, we can think about it more as hub and spoke.
Matt Dixon 23:13
The second measure of success, that I would argue is ultimately more important than your race success is improving your health profile, your daily energy, and your mood. In other words, by taking on this journey, by training for an event, or whatever you're training for a measure of success should be am I actually becoming a higher performing human beings as far as my health, how I feel in the day, how I show up what my clarity and focus is. And if that by chasing a racing goal, you need to if you are going to be successful, nail you're training recipe. And that becomes important that word is really really important your recipe because I think about recipe as you're training your habits, and it's all integrated into the non-negotiables in your work, your family, your travel, and everything else. And when you get that, and you get it right, it should amplify your health. One of the reasons that we like to work with InsideTracker, just for example, is because we get to actually measure that a little bit. Some of the biometrics that we know are associated with not just race performance, but also a platform are really good, thriving health -- not an absence of disease but going from good to great -- we can measure those, and we can improve them. So that's one of the reasons that we integrate it into the big puzzle for so many Purple Patch athletes. Super, but health is a big second one. And so even with a bad race, if you just have a bad day or a flat tire, or you sprained your ankle, a pretty good outcome despite that bad day which leads to for frustration and you might be upset. But it's like goodness me, by going on this journey, I'm, I'm better, I'm healthier, I've got better energy, I can show up to my family or friends, my workplace, and better. And that is a component of success. And so that's equal, that's very important. So that's the second measure that we look at when we think about athlete development.
Matt Dixon 25:24
What about the supporting habits that I mentioned? These are trickier in many ways, because when we talk about supporting habits, embracing recovery, your sleep hygiene, making sure that you're eating a platform of really, really good nutrition. Many of these don't offer a direct link to performance. So in other words, they're not necessarily directly measurable to you getting faster, improving your power, whatever the outcome that you're chasing might be. But they are a pathway to create the bedrock, the platform for you to go on and create better training consistency, enhanced adaptations from the hard work, developing tissue resilience, and so on. But they're really, really hard to cement, particularly for time-starved folks that have got so many competing demands. If we just took one, improving your sleep, hygiene, the quality of your sleep, the quantity of your sleep, the index of that, that's really demanding for us. If you've got kids, if you travel extensively if you got high demands in the workplace, and you're trying to travel, can you really commit to improving your sleep quality? Now I've got one of these magic rings on an aura ring, but there are Whoop bands or other ways to measure it, where you can actually get a little bit of insight onto this. And if over the end of a training block, some of your one of your habits has greatly improved to where it has become a performance habit, a benefit a supporting enhancer, to your overall health well-being and ultimately, we believe your training results, the extent to racing results, ultimately, that's a win. And that's something that needs to be acknowledged and say, great I built on here. Whether you have a good day or a bad day at the ultimate race, I actually improved this. This was something that I can build on. And I want to maintain over the course of my journey. And so we look at supporting habits. Where did you grow? Where did you ignore? Where did you slip up? Where did you improve? And that's a really important measurable component that we look at.
Matt Dixon 27:33
How about adversity? We know that being a high-performing individual CEO, elite athlete, they're all got really used to failing. Because we understand that the journey of progression in sport or in anything else in life is never linear. It is going to include setbacks, adversity, and perish the thought failure. They'd like to say champions have failed the most. And it's true. A journey to greatness is never linear. There's a whole bunch of risk in jeopardy as we talk about there is going to be setbacks. The key element is how you learn to adapt, to respond, not react, but to respond, and how you evolve around it. Did you develop some adaptability, some moldability? Did you become better at managing setbacks in training, maybe a little niggle maybe some sickness, maybe a bad race result? But did you start to develop a toolkit that enables you to meet mountains and reduce them down to hills, to take hills and reduce them to molehills? And this can be expressed in your sporting journey. But I believe that sport is a great crucible for life. So it can also be expressed in your life. And as you go on the athletic journey, you should if successful, you should progress in your moldability. You should get better at handling setbacks. You should become more robust. Your toolkit around this should improve and therefore you can be labeled as a higher performance, someone that is ready to predict, to meet to challenge to overcome setbacks and adversity. And even if you have a bad day, a bad race, you are better at managing it. And you're able to rebound, respond, learn, and grow again. And that's something that when folks start their athletic journey, typically, especially if they don't have much experience, there not very good at. But if you talk to a seasoned professional that has been for 10 years, it is a part of the journey. And so growth and development in this area is something that is not only a prerequisite to your success, it's really important, it's really important. And the beauty of it is that in this safe environment that is sport, it's ultimately your hobby, you can actually draw all of those lessons and develop the traits and characteristics that are necessary in the setbacks and failure in sport, but very easily apply those to lessons outside of sport, where it does matter a little bit more. And so I think that this is another key area of measurement. So that's potentially harder to measure, per se, we've got something very measurable. Is your race, a good race or not such a good race? We've got your health, which is somewhat measurable, of course, and we have InsideTracker and other components like that that could be useful, then we have the opportunity for you to develop improve supporting habits that we can certainly measure and understand intuitively am i doing a better job on those? While it's not measurable, per se, overcoming setbacks and adversity. That's an important, almost personality trait, a set of strategies and pathways and mindsets that really help.
Matt Dixon 31:10
But how about you, as it relates to you as a technician in your sport? This is another area. And it's something that's often an afterthought, how you're actually executing your sports, the technical aspects, this is something that's really important, and yet is never really acknowledged as a measurement of success. Let me remind you, and anyone that is an adult-onset summer can say, I'm with you on this. Improving your technique and your skill in anything is not easy. It requires consistency. It requires focus, it requires a lot of frustration. And ultimately, you're like, I'm actually better at doing it. It's whether you can think about playing guitar, whether you're developing your some technique as an adult-onset some or whether you're retaining posture in the run or sitting on the bicycle, it doesn't matter. But it gets relegated to an afterthought. And the tough thing about how you do stuff, your technical elements is that similar to yours performance habits, there isn't a direct link to immediately getting faster. And I wish it did I wish that you said okay, I've improved my technique. So, therefore, I will be faster. But the dirty truth of it is, it won't. Just because you improve your technique doesn't mean that you're faster. Driving behind, it needs to be a platform of health, a whole bunch of hard work, and commitment around training. But over the long term, if you're getting your recipe of training, right, and it fits into life, and you are becoming a better technician, you will be an up-skilled athlete and that will produce winning in the broadest sense of the word.
Matt Dixon 32:52
It's the same as our next one as we go around our wheel tactics. How do you actually go through your race craft your tactics? We focus so much on building fitness, improving your power, your pace, your muscular endurance, we work tirelessly. In fact, the first question most endurance athletes are asked is, how many hours a week do you train, and people gasp. You only trained seven to eight hours a week. Don't you need to do 20 to be good at Ironman as an amateur? NO. But taking whatever fitness you have and applying it to race courses and becoming a better tactician, around your Terrain Management, your pacing, all of your resource management making smart decisions, ensuring that you're reducing postural stress tactics becomes really important for any level of athlete. Yes, you must be fit. Yes, you must develop fitness and strength. But you then need to apply that over the course of the distance and the terrain that makes up your events. And so tactically smarter, particularly relating to you and your needs and how you operate best. That is a part of the journey.
Matt Dixon 34:12
Let's get it a little bit more narrow for the next one as we carry on around our wheel fueling and hydration. That's a good one. We know that a split particularly around events that last longer, more than 90 minutes, you're fueling and your hydration has a material imprint on how you succeed. And yet so many athletes struggle with cramping with GI distress with forgetting to actually fuel or hydrate and then the proverbial bonk occurs, and all sorts of components that are under the banner of race fueling and hydration. And you just can't figure it out. I trained so hard every time I get to a race that's hot. I overheat and I cramp and I could just do a great day. But I just can't run when I get off the bike my calves are just cramping. Imagine solving that challenge. Imagine you don't have a great day, but you go through the whole of that race and you have worked on and developed a fueling and hydration strategy that works for you. That is development. That's improvement. That's something that you can apply to your next step of the journey and continue to focus on but it's a huge nut to crack. So we need to look at that. And even if the race day performance for one reason or another flat tires, sprained ankles, whatever it might be, is less favorable. If you can say, but, this is something that I improved over this block. It's a building block, it's a growth opportunity. It's another tool in the toolbox that you have developed, becoming your best self, super.
Matt Dixon 35:53
For the next one is we finish - start to finish our wheel. Let's come around, and let's remove race performance completely. And let's think about our journey of athletics. The vast majority of people that I work with have a really hard time of integrating training into their life. And they have the hots and the colds, the Ons and the offs, the victories and the failures around training. And what do I mean by that? Well, the magic word for ultimate success is for you to create a recipe and a toolkit and a mindset so that you can self-manage to create consistency. Consistency is the magic word. And in fact, if you can find consistency over the course of many weeks, many months and ultimately, many years, it becomes something that you do. And when it becomes something that you do, the net result is that your opportunity for success is so much greater. In fact, you're reducing risk, and you're controlling more of the puzzle. And yet we have so many athletes, whether it's motivation, whether it's injury, whether it's sickness, that don't find their recipe, and they can't create consistency, I haven't been able to put together a block of training once. In fact, I worked last year with a wonderful guy, a busy executive who said to me, Look, I'm getting ready for Ironman, Arizona, but the truth is, if you can get me there without being injured, I don't really care what the outcome is. That's a huge success. And what he was really saying there is every prior experience getting ready for an Ironman, he's got injured, he's finished races, but he's done in on bad Achilles, pulled hamstrings, and everything else that have interrupted both his preparation, but also race day performance. And so if we get to nail your recipe, and you manage training really well, and outcome is consistency. And in many ways, it doesn't matter what the next race day performance is, what you have is a body of work that you can build on. You have a platform of success. And that in itself is a critical victory. It's a huge stepping stone for you to then go on and understand what works for you. And that becomes really, really important for it.
Matt Dixon 38:27
The final component is connection, connection with others. And I think that this is a huge component. In fact, if we think about athletes’ success, we talk about a smart and strategic racing plan. We talk about the athlete needing a healthy dose of accountability, some feedback, but people always tend to succeed when they feel a part of something, when they are, for lack of a better phrase, a part of the community. And this goes more than one way. So this is why I'm going to label this connection. What I mean by this is that your journey ultimately can become more rewarding for you. And more successful for you to becoming your better self. If it's not just about you doing what you want. And instead, as you go along and learn lessons, and you improve, and you build these building blocks around these various measures of success we talk about, if you can give the gift to someone else to say, I'm going to help you. You're going to improve, I'm going to impart your knowledge. Well, it's a pretty good feeling because they're going to improve, they're going to excel, they're going to get better, but it's actually going to help you. By teaching, by imparting knowledge elsewhere, by mentoring, you get the reward, you improve. And so as a last one, my outlier, my little bonus one that I want to put in there, I would add that along this journey. If you've had a year that has turned to custard. And you've actually been riddled with adversity. A broken femur like Sarah Piampiano had to go through, a set of setbacks and races with catastrophic equipment failures, for one reason or another, you haven't been able to move along your performance journey, there is still opportunity to improve. And if you become for lack of a better phrase, a better teammate, a better mentor, and you help others, you are still getting rewards and improving, you are still driving towards your better self. And I think that that's pretty cool.
Matt Dixon 40:38
So when we shift to this perspective, and you start to look at it as a journey, your races can amplify. And I think today, this is a list to build on. Now, this little perspective, we're going to pop it in the show notes in a nice diagram and graphic for you, you can download it, you can print it off, and you can pop it on your wall. And as you go to train every day, have a look at it. Because that is the hub and spoke model of success that is going to empower you and ultimately give you your very best racing results. Next time you go through a bad race because you will come back to the graphic. And I encourage you to also do this. Allow yourself to feel the emotions of what a bad race provides, feel them. It's normal, you should be upset and frustrated, give it a little bit of time, don't try and run away or push on. And then go back through the experience, go through the journey of the race and reflect on it really honestly. And use the framework. Where did you actually progress on this journey? Not just the race itself, but where are the areas -- when you reflect on the elements that we talked about today -- where are the elements that you did well, maybe you didn't do well, some of the areas you struggled, therefore, you've got opportunities for growth in the future? And ultimately, what are pieces of the puzzle that you in honesty kind of ignored, and perhaps would benefit from a little bit more focus in the future? And what you have is the fusion of that race being defining of you as a person or athlete, and you have a complete picture. And you're going to probably out of that process, see opportunity for growth. You've also probably seen some great successes, even amidst the struggle that you had on race day. So therefore, as you then look forward, you have a magic word you have clarity. And with that clarity can bubble up re-engagement excitement, and the opportunity for you to place the focus in the areas that will yield success for you. 99 times out of 100 If you allow that process to occur, not running away from the emotions, feeding them, but then taking a little broader perspective. Now nine times out of 100, a race day performance that is less favorable, doesn't look so bad when it's considered under this framework. And so often actually, sometimes, right when you cross the finish line you like full, that was a failure. Sometimes you can emerge and realize my journey is actually on a great track. And today wasn't good. But I tell you what I am progressing. And that is the thing that is empowering and enjoyable and fulfilling. And that is how you get to embrace the journey and become your best self. I hope that helps encourage you to head to the show notes. We are going to post a little model for you. And I think that you will enjoy it. And as ever, you know what I'm signing off, but stay healthy. And keep it fun. I'll see you next time.
Matt Dixon 43:50
Guys, thanks so much for joining. And thank you for listening. I hope that you enjoyed the new format. You can never miss an episode by simply subscribing. Head to the Purple Patch channel of YouTube, and you will find it there and you could subscribe. Of course, I'd like to ask you, if you will subscribe and also share it with your friends. And it's really helpful if you leave a nice positive review in the comments. Now any questions you have, let me know. Feel free to add a comment and I will try my best to respond and support you on your performance journey. And in fact, as we commence this video podcast experience, if you have any feedback at all, as mentioned earlier in the show, we would love your help in helping us to improve simply email us at info@purplepatchfitness.com or leave it in the comments of the show at the Purple Patch page and we will get you dialed in. We'd love constructive feedback. We are in a growth mindset as we like to call it. And so feel free to share with your friends, but as I said, let's build this together. Let's make it something special. It's really fun. We're really trying hard to make it a special experience and we want to welcome you into the Purple Patch community. With that, I hope you have a great week. Stay healthy, have fun, keep smiling, doing whatever you do. Take care.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
race, athlete, journey, improve, performance, success, sport, measure, ultimately, ironman, day, important, component, racing, patch, setbacks, measurable, training, purple, life
SPEAKERS
Matt Dixon