So You Want To Be An Endurance Athlete

Really?  Let me start by sharing this quote:

"Respect the distance or the distance won't respect you! It will eat you up, spit you out and make you beg for mercy" - Unknown 

I was reminded of this during a long swim today.  After three miles of straight swimming I felt good, really good. I looked at my watch and I felt good I was hitting my splits (that means I was maintaining a 1650 yard @ 30 minute pace). In fact I was coming in at 27 minutes.  Good feeling/ Right? WRONG!!!!!

With 1 mile to go I knew this is where the hard work begins.  My arms ached and my legs didn't want to kick anymore. The Pull Buoy sitting on the edge of the pool looked liked a life preserver. I just wanted to grab it and tuck it between my legs. However, I knew I couldn't. There would be no Pull Buoy in the James River On Oct 13 during the 5 mile  "To the Bridge and Back Swim."  This is where the training begins - when the going gets hard. The first 3 miles was just a prerequisite, the last 1 mile was the lesson.

Here's what we do. We get ourselves to a point where the average person says "F5$k this S#&@. Then we train.  It may be the last 20 miles of a 80 mile Bike ride or the last 6 miles of an 18 mile run. It's not about our physical ability; it'a all about our mental.

I did that last mile playing mind tricks to stay focused on the task at hand and away from the pain and exhaustion. "Ed, swim 50, sight for 25, and fast for 25, OK - now 100 easy. Do it again. What? Was I supposed to do 50 easy, 25 drill? Damn!"

It boils down to this. In the race, as in life; you won't regret a second you prepared; you will regret every minute you didn't. Are you willing to go the distance?  Are you willing to do what it takes to just get to the point where most people just give in?

I see people who never push past the point of discomfort and pain to achieve the miraculous. They get so fed up in their career; they forget about their calling, or they never took time to develop one. I'm going to ask you a question and I want an honest answer: "Is there a dream in your heart that's so big yet the pain and hardship of  reaching that dream holds you back?"  You've done the prerequisites - now achieve your dream! One more mile!!!!