A new world, a new day.

I felt 100 percent better today, and for no good reason.  Starting this week, I’m going to keep as detailed notes as possible about my physical and emotional well being and try to track why it is that there are days where I feel worn out like the past couple days.  It seems to come and go every few weeks and I’m not sure if it’s from over-exerting myself or if it is from diet, sleep, etc.  It will be a huge plus to know when and why I will feel both worn down and in great spirits when The Plan enters into competition mode down the road.  If I know generally how I will be feeling the day of a competition I will then know how to mentally prepare for that day and have a nice advantage over others that have not had the ability to get connected with themselves so well.

At this point, I know that when the bad times hit they will generally get better in a couple days and I can push through with my training, focussing on quality rather than quantity as always.  Then, during the majority of the time when I feel great out there, I can push myself that much harder and make as much headway into becoming a professional golfer as is possible.

Speaking of headway, I had a few realizations this morning out on the greens.  The main one is one that I’ve known for a long time, but was strikingly important today.  It was that you should never make assumptions in golf, or for that matter life.  It’s important for my putting to not get ahead of myself and make a lazy short shot assuming that I will make it because I’ve made hundreds of those before.  If I instead live in the moment and fully focus on the putt in front of me then I have a MUCH better chance of making that shot.  So as long as I don’t assume I will easily make a shot and concentrate on it, I will indeed make the putt.  My five-footers have been creeping up and on a good day are right at 80%, but on the days where I am in a bit of a rush or am having difficulties concentrating that number goes down to the upper 60s.  Once you get the mechanics down, this game is truly all in your head!

I went down to see Shawn, the Physical Therapist at LO F.I.T.T. in Lake Oswego today and we had a good workout.  He has me on a fairly strict exercise routine and I’m starting to see the beginning signs of results.  I’m excited about this chapter of The Plan and am very happy with working with Shawn so far.  I haven’t yet, but will have to take some “before” pictures soon so I can compare my general shape now with that of a couple years from now one day..  I think there will be a world of difference if I stick to Shawn’s plan!

I also talked with Matt Roth again today about his involvement in The Plan.  He is a documentary photographer based in Baltimore, MD and has expressed serious interest in coming out to Portland to film The Dan Plan on a full-time basis.  Matt will be an invaluable asset to documenting this project and I hope to welcome him to The Plan very soon.  It’s time to get some good professional clips up on The Dan Plan’s website!!