Paradigm Shift

par·a·digm shift (plural par·a·digm shifts)
noun
Definition: radical change: a radical change in somebody’s basic assumptions about or approach to something

Most of my performance gains have come in tiny increments after much hard work.  This is the spirit of Kaizen.  I love that word: Kaizen.

I have only once ever had a paradigm shift –  a moment of enlightenment that completely changes the way I think about things.

Last year, I had a paradigm shift in my cycling.   At that time, my hill strategy was to pedal hard going down hills, even to the point of super spinning, so that I had the most momentum for the next uphill.   I would then shift to a lower gear and take it easy going up the hills.   At “Over the Mountain” olympic race, I chased “Speedracer girl” the whole bike course.   As I followed her, I noticed that she would get into an tight aero dynamic tuck on the downhills and rest her legs.   I was spinning my legs as fast as they would go, and only making slight gains on her.    She would then pull even farther away from me on the next uphill.   I never did catch her that day!   Afterwards, I talked about this experience with my mentor, Jon Farber.   He told me that indeed, I should work harder on the ups, and get some rest on the downs.   He said working hard on the downhills, is a waste of energy, because each additional wattage of power is met with an exponential increase in wind resistance.  Whereas working harder on the ups will pay off because wind resistance doesn’t really come into play at speeds less than 10mph.   Brilliant!   When I started working harder on the ups in training, my hips were sore for six weeks!   But it paid off in my races the rest of the season in the form of faster bike splits.

I am trying to decide if my latest discovery of using my hips and glutes for running, aka Butt Running, falls under the category of Kaizen or Paradigm shift.  I will write more about that soon, so stay tuned!