Category: Mindset

What’s your Big Why?

by fullcircle, posted in Blogs, Mindset

What’s Your Big Why?  Do you know?

Knowing the answer to this simple question can make everything in life a little easier.
So many times we get lost in the day to day activities; going through the grind with no goals, no purpose no focus and wondering where the day went, how time flies and you haven’t gotten anything done.  Nothing is as you want it to be.

Next, you start to get cranky and ask yourself why am I even doing this?
  • Why did I sign up for this Ironman®?
  • Why do I want to become a triathlete?
  • Why am I doing my 1st triathlon?
  • Why do I want to get in shape, lose weight, get healthy?
If you don’t have an answer to these questions, it’s not likely for you to stick to a plan or program or schedule. But, when you do know the answer, you spring out of bed ready for the day’s training and find ways to fit it all into your day.  It becomes a healthy priority 2nd or 3rd to other items in life but still in the top 5.  It can be tough sometimes, especially when we get knocked out of our routines.  This is a completely normal part of life to have to make adjustments to get back on track.  But get back on we must!

A few of my current athletes are struggling with this as we speak and I am just reminding them to take some quiet time to go within and ask yourself what your big why is again.  Your kids, your partner, your parents, a deceased loved one’s, a friend, brother or sister.  Everyone has a why, you just have to find it!

Last weekend, my 9 year old daughter Kaia was doing her 8th triathlon after not racing at all for over a year.  She has 2 parents who love and live triathlon so it’s hard for her not to be involved and want to do triathlons, but I don’t push her.  The morning of the race she was having major anxiety about racing; Would she be as good as she was before?  Would she be last? All the same issues we all think about at some time before a race.  So, I started asking her if she wanted to race, and she said yes but all these other feelings were taking over so I asked her to think about a few things, like maybe doing it for someone else, so it wasn’t about her and her outcome, but more about just getting out there because someone else couldn’t.  The other thing I reminded her of was how great it felt when she had crossed the finish line of her last race.  She was all a glow, cheering for friends and happy just to be out there.  We looked at some of her race photos and she was reminded of those post-race feelings of success and accomplishment.  Although she struggled right up to the start, she did the race with a huge smile on her face and even saying at one point “This is the best day of my life!”

Another example of a good why, is being a part of Team Thumbs Up.  We were asked to be included and help Brett Anderson who has Cerebral Palsy complete a sprint triathlon.  I was so proud of my team for stepping up and giving this man the experience of flying through a triathlon as fast as we could carry him. He was ecstatic and so thankful!

These are just 2 examples of a why and I have a bunch more I turn to when I am finding myself out of my focus.  All I know is when I am committed and training regularly, everything else in my life is better.  I commit to more sleep, eat healthier, work harder and with more focus and really plan my fun stuff as the reward for all the hard work!  Although the race is always the reward for me!

Of course, I can’t leave without mentioning that if you have your why and still no energy to train it could be a nutrition lifestyle issue and of course I have a program for that!  So, now its my turn to ask you; “What is your big Why?” Id love to hear about it and how it motivates you to get out there and TRI!!!

Don’t Let This Be You!

by fullcircle, posted in Blogs, Mindset
It has been a great summer so far.  I was able to take a nice break to “WORK IN” a little at Green Turtle Abaco, Bahamas.  I  had big plans of getting 8 hours of sleep a night, running, open water swimming and yoga every day!!!  Well… not so much!
The entire family got really sick, my plans went out the window and I eventually got sick as well.  So, I had to accept the situation and adjust.  I still got my meditation, yoga and some great free diving in between the diarrhea, vomiting and coughing!  But as you know, when this happens I lost some of my fitness.  When I got back to work and training I was not in the same physical shape as when I had left.
I could have picked back up doing my intervals, speed work and volume where I left off, but I have learned my lesson from previous experience.  Jumping back into training would have resulted in a pulled hamstring, tweaked back or other minor injury that could have been prevented.  I have dealt with this time and again with my athletes as well.  When you have taken time off from your consistent weekly schedule of training, you cannot just jump back in where you left off.  Sometimes athletes aren’t even aware that they have missed some key workouts but by keeping track of your weekly volume on a training interface like I use with my athletes on Training Peaks, you can keep track of your consistent or lack of consistent training.  When you do come back from taking some time off there needs to be a progression from a lower level of fitness to catch you back up to where you were before.  It won’t take as long as you might think.  Many times, I have tried and seen my athletes try to unsuccessfully jump back in, only to get injured and then need to take even more time off.
DON’T LET THIS BE YOU!  It is a frustrating situation and completely preventable without having to deal with a major setback.  So I recommend more frequent, shorter workouts at a lower intensity, drill work and some consistent sport specific strength training to get you back up to speed.  Take the time you need to build your volume and intensity back to where you were before the sporadic training started.  This is a proven method  I have used with myself and my athletes to get their fitness back and prevent injury in the long run.  Feel free to post comments and feedback!
Train Safe and Smart!
Wishing You Well,
Coach Erinne

Mental Skills; Do You Have What it Takes?

by fullcircle, posted in Blogs, Mindset

As many of my athletes are digging deep getting ready for some short course races here in south Florida I wanted to discuss mental skills and specifically short course racing and high intensity training.  Typically athletes racing short course will be pushing a higher intensity than those doing 70.3 or Ironman distance races.  It is just the nature of the length of the race.  For a sprint triathlon you can literally push your top end the entire race, but if you tried that for a long course race, you would most likely finish poorly or not at all. Mental skills are actually some of the most important skills any triathlete could have in order to be successful (short course or long course) and they are required at any level. If you signed up for the race to begin with you had to overcome your mental objections to do so and that is a mental skill in itself!

But, I want to get a little more detailed and ask the question “How do you get through the toughest of your training workouts?”  You know those days when you want to quit but have 3 more intervals or when it is SO hot, you feel you may pass out or when the finish line is 200 yards away and you start to sprint for it. What do you say to yourself to push through and get the job done?  This is what I want to know.

I have done some research and have also been using a few tactics that work well for me, but I would love to hear from you as well. Everyone is motivated by something different and driven by different motivators. So What Is yours?

Is it the pizza and ice cream after the race that helps you push though?
The chance at beating your local rival/ buddy for bragging rights?
Beating your own best time and creating a Personal Record (PR)?

I can tell you for me, always working to just be better than my last race is what drives me. I have been racing for almost 20 years, sometimes I am just happy to be out there and could care less how I do because I had been injured and couldn’t race for a while. Sometimes I am in shape but using the race as a measuring stick to see how much more into training I need to get if I want to PR. And Sometimes I am dialed in and ready to have my best race. Here are some strategies I have found that work for me and others I investigated:
COUNTING – Whatever the race/ workout I always use my counting tactic. When it gets tough I just start counting my exhales up to 11 and then start over. Simple and yet so effective to distract the mind away from the discomfort (pain!) This is called dissociative strategy- basically thinking of anything except what you are actually doing- it’s a great skill to practice to get through some tough training and racing.

Associative strategy: Focus on the job at hand and how you can make it better, relax shoulders, arm swing if running, form for swimming and running.  Another method is to recall prior tough training sessions or race results that ended well. Remember how good it felt when you succeeded before and really push to get those same results and feeling.  Say to yourself,  “I’ve been here before I can do this again.”
Goals: Achieving the life long goal can be a huge motivator so always reviewing your goals and why you are doing what you are doing can be super helpful in getting through a tough race or workout.
Repeating a positive mantra: “I am a strong efficient runner” vs “I suck at running” which do you think will give a better outcome?  Pain is temporary quitting is forever- one of my favorites!

Here is a link to one of the articles I referenced:
http://www.trainingsmartonline.com/images/Free_Triathlon_Articles/triathlon_psychology.pdf

And an awesome webinar that talks about mental toughness and it is a skill we can all attain!
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/webinar-developing-mental-toughness

Now it’s your turn.  I would love to hear from you what strategies you employ when you need to DIG DEEP in that suitcase of courage.

I look forward to your responses so others can learn from you as well!

Suffering Meltdown?

by fullcircle, posted in Blogs, Mindset
What’s Up Triathletes?

I hope everyone is surviving the heat!  I’ve had several athletes tell me about “MELT DOWN” on the workouts over the weekend.
Here are some tips to implement to insure a solid training session despite the heat.

  • Start earlier I know this can be more difficult on the weekends when we want to sleep in, however getting out there early and before the temperature gets too high makes for a much better training session and then you can come back and take a nap mid-day in the cool AC!!
  • Super Hydration before the workout. Be sure you have been hydrating with ½ your body weight in ounces of water with a small pinch of real sea salt in every 12 ounces that you drink.  Add on to that with coconut water, Kombucha or green tea (organic of course) but make sure you are getting your minimum amount of water in daily and the morning of your workouts.
  • Keep core body temperature as low as possible using cooling sleeves, gloves, ice, cold water
  • Take walk breaks when heart rate starts to get too high
  • Rest in the shade
  • Pour ice cold water on your arms, face and head every chance you get.
  • Wear a visor instead of a closed off ball cap.
  • Take sunglasses off so the wind can cool your face.
  • Call it a day if it’s just too much heat.

Ben greenfield just posted this great article with even more tips on how to stay COOL in the Heat- check it out here.

Oops I did it again

by fullcircle, posted in Blogs, Mindset

Oops I Did it Again… by Coach Erinne Guthrie

Does anyone else remember that Britney Spears song, or am I dating myself?  Anyway, that song was stuck in my head about a month ago when I was saying to myself, “OOPS! I did it again.”   I seemed to have re-injured my hamstring that was torn two years ago and took me away from running for over 12 months. The 2nd “Oops” was that I felt like I was back in Adrenal Fatigue.  I had no energy to get through my workouts and didn’t have the “dance to work” attitude I usually enjoy.  I really had to take a step back and take a look at what had been going on the past few months and it was all clear.

  • Less than 7-8 hours of sleep for many weeks in a row.
  • Too much refined sugar and processed foods from traveling for a few weeks consecutively.
  • Pushing too hard in training, despite my body telling me I was fatigued and needed more TLC and less 200 repeats at the track (despite my goal to get back to running faster).

All of these things I coach my athletes on and here I was not practicing what I preach.  I named my company Full Circle Coaching for a reason and please notice the Yin-Yang in the logo and my tag line; “Where Performance Meets Balance.”  When I had the opportunity to start over with my new company 5 years ago, I wanted to make sure I was implementing all the things I had learned over the previous 15 years of coaching, training and living that got me where I am today, happy, healthy, strong and fit.  The key component being BALANCE between working OUT and working IN.  I like to remind myself that life is about finding that balance between too much and too little of everything!  I like to see myself riding the wave of that balance, constantly course correcting as needed, to stay on top of the wave all the time, not just for a final destination or goal (although having a goal can help us get focused). The good news is I was able to implement all the strategies for nutrition, working IN and supplements needed to dig me out of the hole I found myself in. I like to train hard, I like to race and compete and I want to be able to do that and have the energy to be the best Mom for my 9 year old daughter and my growing company.


In 3 weeks, I am pain free in my hamstring and back to full, amazing energy by taking a ton of recovery days, not days off but days to rebuild my foundation with low heart rate movement, holistic nutrition, a few supplements that I swear by and of course including my daily mediation, EFT and working IN.

The hamstring pain is 100% gone after I implemented my tried and true strength program I created specifically for running injury free.
So, based on what was going on with me and what I hear my athletes struggling with as well, I am offering 2 programs this month.
The 1st will be an online 6 week course where I review all my holistic principles and how they apply to triathlon training. Many of you have been asking me for just the nutrition course but spreading the information out over a few weeks will make it simpler to implement and more comprehensive.
The 2nd program is my Running Essentials 101 and 102. This 1 day running intensive will include total body running strength exercises as well as a run test and training zones.
Also please enjoy these 2 articles that can make a difference in your running health.
If you’re looking to achieve results with your training program, contact us today.  Here’s a link to schedule your call to discuss how to make it happen!

PLAN Your Race & RACE Your Plan

by fullcircle, posted in Blogs, Mindset, Race Specific

PLAN Your Race & RACE Your Plan

This coming week is about getting mentally and physically prepared for race day. 

Not much fitness can be gained between now and Race Day on Sunday. 

I encourage all my athletes to write out a race plan.  Starting from Saturday morning before the race, to the end of the race and even post-race recovery strategies. 

I ask them to include everything they plan to do to prepare for the race, what they will  eat, how much sleep and any other important details.  It is all written out in a positive light, especially the race itself. 

After you have written it out you can close your eyes and visualize the race scenario exactly as you want it to go many times before the race start.  By positive I mean like this:   “I will start off to the side of the main swim pack and duck dive under the waves, repeating my mantra (reach for the buoy).  I will sight every 5 strokes to stay on course. If I get out of breath I will roll over on my back to breath for 5 breaths and roll back to swim, kick and breath.” 

Avoid the negative thoughts by thinking “I won’t get a flat and I won’t walk.”  Instead say “I will run the entire portion of the run course” or “I will change my flat quickly if it happens.” 

If you don’t know how to change a flat, get to the bike store this week and ask them to show you. It is very easy.  Also, check your bike tires for any gashes that could potentially lead to a flat.

Join the Nutrition Reset Live on Triathlon Obsessed, April 25-28th. Click HERE to save your spot!!

Curious about Full Circle’s Triathlon Transformation program?
You too can become the triathlete you always dreamed of! Use this link to schedule your FREE Triathlon Breakthrough Session Now! WWW.SCHEDULEYOU.IN/5ZISVAU

Erinne Guthrie is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach since 1999 and Chief Motivating Officer at Full Circle Coaching, LLC since 2010. Creator of Triathlon Transformation. She has been training, racing and coaching triathletes since 1997. She is also a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 3, USMS Master’s Swim Coach, Motivational Speaker, Metabolic Efficiency Specialist, Mom, Mermaid and much much more.

Mind . Body . Balance . Meditation

by fullcircle, posted in Blogs, Mindset

Where Performance Meets Balance:  If you only train hard all the time, there will be a time where your body will tell you it has had enough. Here is one way I use and recommend to my athletes to ride the wave of working out and working “IN.”

I know, I know many of you are opposed to the thought of having to sit still in silence for any amount of time and I was the same way. Until I found these two resources below that have a short audio section where you listen first followed by a short block of time with calm music. For me this makes all the difference in the world.

I came to meditation through yoga. I have been including yoga in my triathlon training practice ever since I got adrenal fatigue in 2008. With yoga came more of an interest in meditation to help create the balance I had been missing in my life. I can train hard with no problem but I always left out the other side of the coin and I paid for it big time when my body just shut down.

What I also learned is meditation does not have to mean sitting cross legged and chanting OM, although that does work. It really is just focused relaxed attention on one thing with a low heart rate. So for me and what I learned from OSHO (a famous Indian mystic, guru and spiritual teacher) is that it can include running, biking or swimming but just at a very low intensity while staying focused on the activity of the breath or movement, not on how hard we can push it. When other thoughts come in, gently notice them, no need to beat yourself up about it and get back to breathing and moving gently. It takes a little  practice to get good at anything, and mediation is not any different, it is a skill worth practicing.

There are 2 FREE ONLINE Meditation Offers from my two favorite resources for easy to implement mediation audios.  I have the APP on my phone and listen on a midday break or before I start my Day.

https://chopracentermeditation.com/experience  This one is a FREE 21 day meditation challenge. I own several of these programs and I highly recommend the one titled Perfect Health, found below:

https://chopracentermeditation.com/store/product/2/perfect_health

This series of meditations really frames how our mind plays such an important part when it comes to our bodies.  If you are recovering from injury or sickness I cannot recommend this meditation enough!

Here is a second Free meditation from the workings of OSHO

http://www.mentorschannel.com/Osho/MeditationforBusyPeople/Online/

“Kaizen” One of Full Circle’s Core Values

by fullcircle, posted in Blogs, Mindset

Kaizen – Japanese for “improvement” or “change for the best,” refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement.  Setting goals, creating the plan to get there, following the plan and putting it all together on race day-This is how to reach your goals in triathlon- continuous, steady improvement!  You weren’t born swimming, biking and running, it takes time to master the skills of each sport.

Triathlon was only just invented in the 80’s!  It takes a few years of consistent training in all 3 sports to be able to put it all together well.  I am not saying you have to wait a few years to get better because every individual is different and will excel at different rates.  However, I have seen it time and time again when there is consistency in training and recovery, great things happen.

Of course, having a coach will greatly increase the learning curve.  I speak to many athletes each week who have big triathlon dreams but tell me they want to wait until they are more in shape to hire a coach.  Training with a coach from the beginning will help you avoid making simple mistakes that me or my athletes or all the triathletes who came before have already made over the last 30 years. You get the benefit of jumping to the front of the line in terms of experience, technology and innovation.

From the beginner to the most experienced triathlete, I truly believe that everyone can benefit greatly from having a coach.  I always use a coach for myself as well. Having someone besides yourself and your ego to consult with is essential.  A coach can guide you on every detail of triathlon training and racing.  There are so many details within each discipline; swim, bike and run along with strength (injury prevention), nutrition and of course, putting it all together.  It can be a big commitment or a simple one. Just need to find the coach that works for you.

There are many things to consider when looking for a coach, but they need to be able to meet you where ever you are with respect to ability and skill level, time commitment, and expectations.  Personalities need to mesh too, every coach won’t work for every athlete. I personally like to work with athletes on a closer higher level so I can help them achieve the results they are seeking. However this year I am offering a group program, reach out to me for more information,  erinne@fullcirclecoaching.co.  See below on tips to consider when looking for a coach and a coaching program.

TIPS:  Some things to consider when looking for a coach or training program.
Budget- You get what you pay for!  Are you looking for a social club?  Other athletes to train with?  A more laid back approach where there is no commitment from you in the way of feedback and logging training?  If you answered yes to any of these then a group training plan is the best choice.  Please consider however if you do not receive the results you were hoping for it is not the plan or the coach’s fault, a generic plan will not specifically help you as an individual to improve your limiters. If you are looking for more contact from your coach and you have some specific time goals then you may be ready for a more one on one approach to coaching. This type of coaching can get you where you want to go in a shorter period of time. Also, using technology like a garmin can help the communication and measurement of improvement. This however will require more od a financial commitment and deeper relationship with your coach that should improve over time. Weekly feedback is a must and having the coach be able to see you whether in person or with video is always a bonus.  It all depends on what your goals are, what you want to achieve and how fast you want to get there.

Time- Knowing how much time you have to train on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis is another important factor to consider if you want to hire a coach.  There are plenty of FREE training plans online that you can download and fit into your schedule.  However, if you have these triathlon goals and you have no clue how to fit them all in hiring a coach is the way to go.  Many coaches will change your training schedule according to your work, family and other life commitments and still allow the training you need to reach your next PR (Personal Record).  Also the longer you work with a coach who you gel with the better the results tend to get over time.  That is a win, win!

Experience- Your coach’s credentials are not always the whole story.  It is a great idea to consult with your perspective coach and ask about their education and experience in coaching, training and racing.  A good coach should have a little bit of everything and maybe specialize in one area.  Another good thing a coach should have is the ability to have a whole team to support the coaching practice. One coach can’t be all things to every athlete. It is an added bonus if your coach has a massage therapist, bike mechanic, physical therapist, strength trainer, sport psychologist or any other specialist or strategic partner to refer athletes to  that support the same vision for their athletes.  Please don’t be fooled by the coach who may be an excellent athlete but have difficulty transferring that knowledge to others they are coaching.  Every athlete is different and requires different stimulus, recovery, and strategy.  Finding a coach that understands this and allows for KAIZEN is the right choice, not necessarily the one that can beat you at the race!
Do your research, ask the questions, try a few classes and find the coach that inspires and motivates you to achieve your triathlon dreams!