Dr. Kenney’s Friday 5 Spot
On Fridays I like to share some of the experiences I’ve had during the week with patients and in my personal life that I’ve found significant in some way. I like to share them in hopes that you might find value in them and have something resonate with you in your life.
Something that helped me. I’ve been running almost daily to get prepared for my next ultramarathon race in July. I was checking my stats on my watch one night and had the thought that I was running kind of slow on most of my runs. For the types of races I do, speed is not a necessity, and I can certainly get through my next race just fine, but I felt like I was going slower than I should in training.
The next day, I decided that I would really push the pace and ended up running over a minute faster per mile. Doing so has had a carry over effect into all the subsequent workouts after that time. It was as if I instantly reset what my “normal” was. I’d been getting too comfortable in my training and as my intensity decreased a bit, I didn’t notice it until I looked at my stats. Once I brought that intensity back up, my body responded with an improvement in overall performance. Not everything you do will be at 100% each time out but it is crucial to push yourself regularly to prevent from becoming complacent and going through the motions.
Great advice I often think of. Before I ran the Leadville 100 a couple years ago, a runner that had completed the race several times gave us all some advice. He said “you’ll be out there tomorrow and you’re going to think you’re smarter than you are. You’ll start worrying about your VO2 max, mineral levels, and all sorts of other things that you shouldn’t. If we were that smart, we wouldn’t be running 100 miles through the mountains at 2 miles above sea level. Your mind will give you all sorts of things to worry about to try and get you to stop but all you need to do is keep going forward and you’ll be fine. ”
The reason I love this advice is that it’s a reminder of how we often make things overly complicated in our lives. Ultimately though, when we keep it simple, refuse to quit and just keep making progress, things tend to end up just fine. Don’t overanalyze, stay focused, remain in the present and keep progressing.
A concept I believe in. When I coach football, I tell my boys that mistakes are unavoidable. They’ll make them as players, and I’ll make some as the coach. What we want to avoid however, is making the same mistakes again and again. This is especially true of mental mistakes. If the same errors are being made mentally it often indicates a lack of focus and/or awareness. These types of errors are usually easily corrected by asking better questions, paying closer attention, and preparing better.
This concept applies not just to football but to life in general. Mistakes are a great teacher and without them we would not learn as we should. We must heed the knowledge they provide and improve as a result. If you find yourself in the same misfortunes, then it’s time to start doing things differently. As I tell my guys – “if we’re going to make mistakes let’s make them full speed and at least make different ones than the last time.”
Do I take nutritional supplements? I am a fan of the “keep it basic approach” to supplementation. That is not to say that taking a wide variety of nutrients isn’t beneficial, but I personally keep it simple. I take a whole food multivitamin (derived from fruits and veggies not synthetic), calcium/magnesium supplement, vitamin D (mainly in fall and winter when I’m not getting sunshine as much) and fish oils on and off. If I’m building up toward a major race, I’ll also use a joint supplement as a preventative measure for my joints. Overall, my goal is to take in as many nutrients as possible from my food and then fill in the holes or address any specific needs I have through supplementation.
Some quotes I love.
“Some poor, phoneless fool is probably sitting next to a waterfall somewhere totally unaware of how angry and scared he’s supposed to be.” – Duncan Trusell
“The only difference between salad and garbage is timing.”
“The number one reason people don’t reach their goals is that they trade what they want most for what they want now.” – Zig Ziglar
“When you’re wrong, admit it. When you’re right, be quiet.” – Mark Devine
“Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Want more?
- Don’t forget to follow Dr. Kenney on Instagram @Coloradochiropractor
- To see previous Friday 5 Spots, visit www.newbodychiro.com and go to “blog”
- Check us out on Facebook under New Body Chiropractic