Exceeding Expectations

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The above picture really has nothing to do with today's post, but I wanted to put it up. My friend Cindi sent it to me. The name of the place is Blake's LotaBurger and it is a chain restaurant located in New Mexico. It shouldn't be hard to find one, as there are 76 locations throughout the state. I will have plenty of time on my LOOONG drive from Florida to Arizona.
If you have eaten here, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought!
I wonder if I get a free burger??????
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Back to my title. To exceed expectations, I think we need to be realistic in what we expect. If we always expect the BEST CASE SCENARIO, we will often be disappointed. This sets us up for getting discouraged, frustrated and eventually quitting whatever we are doing. Not to say we shouldn't set the bar high, but we need to keep it real.
This idea could relate to any job out in the world, but let's talk triathlon (big surprise, right???) Check out my buddy Justin's blog for a good take on knowing and accepting our current level of fitness. If we know where we stand with our current level of fitness and we set realistic goals, we will accomplish our goals more often. We are then given a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that will aid in our motivation in the sport.
What else?? Oh yeah, we will also ENJOY the process a lot more. After all, that is what really matters, right?
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Today I exceeded my expectations on a run. Now I wasn't suppose to run at this pace today, but I did prove something to myself...that I do have run speed.
I have had the same "half ironman speed" workout for the last few weeks. It consisted of a 30min warm-up, 30min at 6:00 pace, 10-15min cd. Since I have been coming back from my foot issue, this workout has been tough on me.
Today was a huge breakthrough. I went into the workout with the goal of running a little better than the 6:10's I had been putting out over the past 2 weeks. Realistic, right? Well, from mile 1 things felt better. I had my stride and the pace was effortless to my HR. I ran the 30min easy and then covered the next 5 miles at 5:36 per mile at a HR of 171-173. This is about 12 bpm below my LT and the fastest I have seen in some time. Needless to say, I felt pretty good at the end of this one.
Here is to:
- Being realistic.
- Finishing every workout strong.
- Exceeding Expectations.
- Always seeing that glass half full.
BB

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