1-2-3 Sundays: Winter Running, Podcasts & 5 Whys

1 Theme

This Has To Change

I always find this section the hardest to write each week because it forces me to do a lot of reflection.

Often there's not something that's been consistent throughout the week to write about.

Which is why I'm going to change it.

This will now be the Idea.

A mental model, concept or mindset hack I've heard or utilised at some point.

2 Positive Outcomes

It's Almost Go Time

It's less than a week until Hyrox Barcelona.

The excitement is real.

I am buzzing to get into the arena, put all the work I've done over the last few months on the line and also get a change of scenery.

I had my two best conditioning sessions this week where I felt very fit throughout.

My running feels the best it ever has and I know what I need to do now on the day.

Let's go🚀

Trail Running Without Trail Running

I finished up my training week with a 90-minute easy-paced run this weekend.

Clear skies and crisp weather made it perfect for running.

I headed down the cycle path where a lot of it was covered in leaves. Because there's no traffic it genuinely feels like I'm out on the trails, away from the noise. I can disconnect and think with reduced inputs.

Plus the surroundings are beautiful - the main reason I love running.

3 Learnings

My New Favourite Podcast App

One of the main frustrations with podcasts is I also forget what's been said unless I take my phone out and create a note of what's been said.

This ruins the flow of the conversation and also takes me away from being present in what's being said.

I've been trying an app called Snipd this week which is pretty cool.

You can create a snip of a podcast (triple-click your Airpods) which you can review later on. What's even better is the AI features within the app which turn your snip into text, allowing you to export it to Readwise/Notion.

It also creates a summary of the podcast and breaks into down into chapters too. This is limited to 2 per week with the free version.

There's a 2-week trial of the premium version which I'm going to try out and see whether its worth paying for.

Podcasts To Go Slow, Music To Go Fast

Most runners go too fast when they should be going slow and too slow when they should be going fast.

For an easy-paced run, you want to be going at a pace that is borderline too slow.

Whenever I listen to podcasts when running I find it hard to go fast. I don't know whether that is down to me than losing concentration on what's being said or not.

Either way, when I have a slow run I tend to listen to conversations or audiobooks as opposed to music.

When I need to be going fast such as intervals, such as intervals or a tempo run, I'll opt for doof-doof tunes.

5 Whys

This is a technique used for exploring cause-and-effect relationships.

You'll hear it being used in business situations or in root cause analysis - when there's a problem and you want to find out what's caused it.

The technique is simple:

• Start with your problem statement
• Ask 'why'.
• Do this 5 times or until you reach the root cause.

This goes beyond the obvious symptoms to discover what's lying beneath the surface.

You can also use this type of thinking in your own life.

If something doesn't go to plan, you can take yourself through this exercise to find out what's actually causing you problems.

It may not be what you think it initially is.

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Speak soon!