Black Line Clarity
As you read through the CPQ and find those that speak to you or can help you address a shortcoming you’ve been struggling with, make a note of which ones they are. You’ll take those CPQ and use them to drive your performance with Black Line Clarity.
I call this tool Black Line Clarity because it reminds me of when I was a kid and I got glasses for the first time. Before then, everything was a little fuzzy. When I put them on, I was seeing perfectly fine black lines around everything with awesome depth and clarity.
When you’re racing and going hard, it’s hard to find that type of clarity and focus. Things blur together. You know the clarity and details are there but you really can’t see all of them.
Once in a while, on a perfect day, you feel like you put on glasses and you see every detail of the race. I felt that way in the 2005 Tour de Georgia on the Brasstown Bald climb.
My body felt amazing, bouncy and light. But the thing that I noticed the most was that I could just see everything — the depth in the road, the cracks in the paint, the yellow lines. I was so in the zone, so in the moment, I remember looking at the fans and a guy who I raced against as a teenage mountain biker, Dustin Brady. I hadn’t seen him in years, since 1996 I think, and there he was in the crowd. I just smiled at him and I went on to win the stage. It was one of my first big wins.
The Black Line Clarity process is a foundational tool that you’ll use to check in and arriving at a "primed" or "ready state" before a ride, race, or anything else that requires complete focus and mental presence. I hope that it gives you the level of mental focus and awareness that I felt on that day racing up Brasstown Bald, when I saw Dustin. Black Line Clarity sets you up to take on a task that you have in front of you. This could be a workout or a race on the bike, or off the bike this could be used to prepare for a meeting or public speaking.
Make it a practice to walk through Black Line Clarity before every race and some of your hardest workouts. Some of my athletes will even walk through this priming process on a daily basis, right after when they wake up, for instance.
Step I:
Check in
1. Review your targets. Look at your personal targets for your workout and or event.
2. Review your talents. What abilities, skills, and knowledge do you possess that will help you hit your targets?
3. Review your strategy. What place must you make and execute to use your talents to hit your targets?
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Step II:
Own your mission
Find the CPQ that are most meaningful to you and choose a few mantras to focus on for this part of the Black Line Clarity process. We’ll go over several options for each CPQ so you can find something that is meaningful to you.
Step III:
Confirm Your Commitment
"I am clear in my purpose, perspective, and desired outcome, I am now ready to go ALL IN and WIN MY RIDE."