Guest Post: Shane Eversfield (aka Zenman)

Introduction: In this guest post and video, Shane Eversfield describes lessons he learned–from his first Ironman–about the importance of focusing on process, one stroke or stride at a time, not the far-away finish line. Three years later I learned the same lesson while swimming the 28.7-mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. Fortunately it felt completely natural to do so, as I’d been doing improvement-oriented (Kaizen) swimming for over 10  years. A focus on improving your swimming leads naturally to giving undivided attention to every stroke. So during that swim, my first ultra-marathon, I took one purposeful stroke, nearly 27,000 times. 

May your strokes be as happy and purposeful as mine, Terry Laughlin

In 1999, Hawaii Ironman was to be my third triathlon ever. Well… I almost killed myself as I trained for that event. As terrifying as that experience was, it offered me a valuable lesson that has helped me to go far beyond iron:

Ironman is not 140.6 miles. It is one mile 140.6 times. There is a profound difference. 

The same adage is true for any distance – especially when that distance is the longest you have ever attempted. In the environment of competitive endurance sports, we tend to get very goal- focused. Sure, it’s healthy to set attainable goals and strive to reach those goals. However, those very same goals can get us into a lot of trouble – even if they are attainable.

In this six-minute video-blog, I offer you some insights on how to temper your goal drive and to balance it with the other key element of training and racing. These insights are just a few of many I offer in my new book – the first in a series of five.

I’ve just published a new e-book, “An Introduction to Kaizen-durance, Your Aerobic Path to Mastery” – available through the Total Immersion online store.

I also invite you to visit the Kaizen-durance website.

- Shane “Zenman” Eversfield, Total Immersion Master Coach, Founder and Head Coach of Kaizen-durance