A couple of weeks ago, I worked with a team on their individual and collective BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOALS. After the first session, the leader pulled his team together and said: Here’s the deal: you get to determine where you set your goal. It’s important to know that no matter where you set it, there is a good chance…

This week’s blog has been a challenge. I’ve been thinking a lot about it. So much so that, by my standards, I’m a day late. I’m big on routine. And, when routine works out, I usually spend Wednesday mornings tidying up the week’s blog and then hit publish.Yesterday morning, though, I still…

This past Sunday was my second Father’s Day. I’ve played a lot of roles in life—being a dad is the best one! I woke up to a poster that my wife had created for me along with an arrangement of gifts. Two identical gifts stood out and made me smile ear to ear: water guns with the following inscriptions…

I believe I can break 5 minutes for a 500-yard freestyle. For me, it’s my 4-minute mile. This goal nestled itself in my brain in 2006. I was 26 years old at the time and I fell in love with long-distance swimming. For years, I’ve obsessed over this goal: 20 lengths of the pool holding at or below the following splits…

Go slow to go fast. Yeah, right! In 2022, we’re all Ricky Bobbys. A quick-fix solution to everything is our…well…fix. In today’s society — where there is something on the market to fix any of our ailments or problems — why would you ever take it slow? Go slow to go fast!?! Yeah, right!

I don’t remember who. I don’t remember when. And, I don’t remember where. And, in today’s data-driven and scientifically-based approach to working out, what I’m about to say may not even line up with what we’re supposed to do…

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? The chicken? The egg It’s an old riddle and you must have a lot of confidence in me if you thought I was going to finally answer it for you. To which came first, I really don’t know. Stick with me, though, because you may find out…

I hired a coach. And, he’s not cheap: $1000/month with a requirement of 6-months of coaching. “Why are you telling me this, Reed?” Because I have a BIG GOAL. I have a really SCARY GOAL. And, this one is HAIRIER than…

A few weeks ago, my friend, Greg, sent me a list—103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known—created by Kevin Kelly, founding Executive Editor of Wired, with the following message: “A good list to start your day.” Little does Greg know, I’ve started my day with the list every day since then. I should probably tell him! Earlier this week…

May 7th, 2022. The Ironman World Championships in St. George, UT. Up at 3:30am. 2.4 miles of swimming in 60 degree water. 112 miles of biking with over 7000 feet of elevation change. 26.2 miles of running in 90 degree heat. 13 hours. 57 minutes. 38 seconds. To bed at 11:30pm. By my wife’s standards…

We all have a quit point. When doing things that are BIG, SCARY, and HAIRY, you’re bound to run into that point. Unfortunately, Mother Nature designed us this way. But, what if you could keep going just a little bit longer—do more than you think you can—before getting to that point? And, what if it could actually be fun. It turns out you can…

It’s time to nerd out a bit. On play research. I’m a huge proponent of play. It’s helped me tremendously. However, lately, I haven’t felt too playful. And, as a result, I’ve felt a bit stuck within my BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL. Like any good nerd, I did what feels playful to me…

The Hogan Personality Assessment helps you understand three core aspects about you and your story: 1) How your personality traits and your go-to behaviors impact the way you approach your goals on a day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month basis; 2) How certain behaviors and ways of thinking may interfere with…

There are two goals within this portion of the Main Set are 1) hold consistent times throughout your P500 125s and your P200 125s despite how the distance is broken up and 2) your overall times for all of the P200 125s should be faster than your overall times for all of the P500 125s.

On Monday, I was ready to give up on my BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL. Because it’s BIG. It’s SCARY. And because this one seems particularly HAIRY. Needless to say, my emotions were having their way with me and my goal on Monday. My attention was certainly “pulled this way and that.” Emotions are…

I had a graduate school professor who always reminded me, “Getting over inertia is the hardest part.” It is.  It’s easy to stay the same. It’s easy to do nothing. It’s easy to remain unchanged.  But, in the long run, that can make things really hard. The story you want to tell…

The Main Set consists of three components—The Eyes, The Body, and The Stinger—which are intended to be done without breaks between the components. The set within The Eyes are to help you focus on fast swimming with an extra focus on your wall work and your breakouts. The set within The Body is to help build…

“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… the best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. To have a good life, it is not enough to remove what is wrong with it. We also need a positive goal: otherwise why keep going?”

On Monday, I picked up 100 copies of What’s Your BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL? from a printer I’ve been working with in Naples, FL since November. I sent my wife, Julie — the person who encouraged me to tell a better story when I met her in 2018 — a picture of me holding the book. “How’s it FEEL?!” she asked…

This workout is a grind. The primary purpose is to help you zero in on your 500 pacing (P500), and then aim to maintain that pacing as the fatigue builds up throughout the Main Set. In distance swimming, it’s easy to focus on…