We’ve been honored to support Picky Bars Feed the Dream athletes again this year. In particular, triathlete Ted Treise took Erin up on coaching and Reset recommendations. His goal this year? To go pro in tri. Spoiler alert: HE DID IT!

AND he’s the newest member of the Athletes for Yoga pro team.

The week before Augusta 70.3 — where he took the overall win and punched his pro card — he wrote this to our Athletes for Yoga team…

“It’s been a crazy year of improvements and people ask me what has changed. What's different this year isn't anything I've been doing exercise wise or a magical supplement, it's being present and enjoying the process. Exactly what you teach! I've stopped worrying about the end game of "going pro" and am focusing on steps B-Y. It's a long process and I just want to enjoy it while inviting as many people as possible along for the journey.”

The mental game makes such a difference, and Ted's got it. Take an inside look into how he used Athletes for Yoga to accomplish his goal and cheer him on as he competes in Waco 70.3 on October 28th!

Congrats on Augusta 70.3! So exciting to see that news, especially after hearing your mindset when you lined up. Sounds like refocusing really benefited you. Can you tell us more about that mindset shift? Any meditation work helpful in particular?

I think the quote above really hits the nail on the head for what my shift in mindset was for 2018. The season was less fretting about my goal to go pro, but more excitement and having fun with daily training. I focused my energy on each workout and recovering with a peripheral on long term goals.

And to back up, can you explain what it means to be pro? How does that qualification work and what does it mean for your career?

Patek Philippe watches, private jets, and fine Italian cars. Just kidding, what it means is that I am now able to race directly against people like Jesse Thomas, Lionel Sanders, and Tim O’Donnell. The pro wave typically gets preferred bike racks, their own division starting wave, and prize money for top finishers. Career, not much will change as 9–5 most days you will find me at the office. I went pro to race the best athletes in the world and to see how far I can push my body and mind.

The bulk of your season was racing 3 times in 12 weeks, culminating in Augusta. How did you use Athletes for Yoga in that block?

How I used Athletes for Yoga during the lead up could be seen in many ways. Before early morning runs I loosen up the muscles through the Workout Day Warm Up. During hard workouts, I would focus on breathing. Getting through 3 x 5K at 5:50 pace requires staying calm and not freaking out that we are three minutes into the first one, it hurts, and we have 95% of the workout left. This can be learned in chapter two within the Work IN book. Between and after sessions I try to fit in about 45 minutes of active stretching/foam rolling. My favorite video Reset is Recovery Boost. Nothing better than the feeling of putting the feet up on the wall after a tough day.

How did you tap back to yoga in that last race?

Tapping into yoga during the last race was done staying present on the bike and the run. During the bike, I broke down the ride into nine 15-minute segments. Within these segments, holding the prescribed power and consuming certain calories was my sole focus. I did not think about the last interval where my mind was drifting and I lost power in the process, or how the next segment would really hurt if this one does. My focus was perfecting the current 15 minutes.

On the run I do the same segment tactic but in 2 mile increments. Augusta had high temps with lots of humidity in the air, making miles 8–12 wicked tough. Heavy legs, a stomach that was all sorts of wonky, and just general tiredness were all experienced. To get through it, I focused on breathing. Two counts of breath in, three counts of breath out. That’s it. “If I can breathe, I can run,” I thought. Again, breaking down hard to complete problems into a simple, easy to follow processes is how I completed it.

Any mantra in particular helpful?

I’m definitely a verbal person but I don’t have any consistent mantras that I’ve used. On the bike, I think my self-talk is more align with a Hulk Hogan 1980’s PR Firm. Then the run is more Cody like from Dual Survival.

Any lessons easy to pick out from this process that could help other athletes for yoga on their pursuits?

It’s hard to give advice or teach a lesson on this as everyone has a different situation they are dealing with. For me, my biggest lesson is to be more patient with completing goals and focus on the details of each task more. It might take a half decade or so but if it matters to the individual, that okay and the daily process should be fun and enjoyable.

What’s next?

What's next in triathlon is to progress as a pro. Between now and whenever I want to go to the Kona World Championships as a pro and continue racing the best in the world.

Get inspired and follow Ted’s lead on Instagram.