Breath is given, heartbeat what you make of it

Above: Half-way training at the IJmuiden South Pier, this morning. The ship¹ coming in is the passenger Vessel Saga Pearl II, from Cuxhaven Germany heading for Amsterdam.

Preparation for awesome wintertraining started these days! Discomfort is the best place to start. To prepare for worse (the winter) to come. To learn to adjust to discomfort creates:

a) Feeling of acceptance and well being with(in) the present circumstances (things can and will be a hell-of-a-lot-worse soon);

b) Prepares for what lies ahead as you built resiliency.

The best moment to start preparing for winter-training is... NOW.

How?

Easy does it. Look at adversity and discomfort as your coach. It shows you what needs to be learnt or you'll end up falling prone to finding excuses in it for not doing anything at all. Feeling a slight chill this summer? Don't panic and complain. Use it as a modest introduction to building up resistance and learn to deal with it: when it will get colder you will be much better prepared.

Remember that breath and breathing controls the heart beating. Every emotional-state has a corresponding breathing pattern². The reverse is true also. By introducing deep, relaxing breathing exercises, states of anxiety and its corresponding high heart rates will be brought within a reasonable zone.

To keep your well being within your reasonable zone is extremely important for your training to be effective, healthy and pleasant. You'll burn up and run out of breath soon other wise.

Breath is what is given, heartbeat what you make of it!

Your training should be designed to control that and the result will be that you will have fun.

Does that require fancy equipment attached to my arms to monitor my wellbeing?

If you are a robot or are part of a special program to become one: yes sure you do. In all other cases the less equipment, pretensions, high-tech stuff and fear based neurotic believes and superstition, the better of you are. Allowing you to fully concentrate on what you are doing; it introduces one to the essence of what is there and to make it stronger. Though this is not always a pleasant feeling to begin with; it is the best place to start (and go easy from there)!

¹ See also: "O my brothers, who braved 100.000 perils to reach the west, choose not to deny experience of the unpeopled world. Think of the seed of your creation. You were not born to live as brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.": http://bartvanbroekhoven.com/en-US/running/160-sar-sarsential-23

² Seehttp://bartvanbroekhoven.com/en-US/180-wuwei