Great achievement comes from great sacrifice

We all know that in order to reach our goals many great sacrifices have to be made. As I embark on my fifth year in triathlon I am reminded of that everyday. From 5am wakeups to swim endless laps, riding endless hours on my bike, hammering mile after mile on pavement, these are the things that it takes to be better than the next guy come race day. As I have gotten better at these things, one quickly realizes that it doesn’t get any easier. In fact, in order to continue improving and reach the goals I have set for myself, it will take even greater sacrifice and commitment.

I wasn’t blessed with a ton athletically; however one thing I do possess is the mental capacity to keep going when others give up. No matter what it takes, whatever time I have to get up, however many hours I have to put in to reach my goal, I will do it. As a new season begins and I inch closer to my long term goals in this sport, I realize that the commitment that it took to reach last years goals will not be good enough. With each new season the sacrifices will become greater. Greater commitments will have to be made. And the training hours will get longer. I am prepared for that and know that if I stay the course I have a real shot at reaching my goals.

Last season I set the bar pretty high for myself and I was able to accomplish what I set out to do. This year however is one in which my only goal is to continue to learn and get valuable Ironman experience. Their will be no time goals I am chasing, no new race distances I will attempt. Plain and simple this year will be about getting better in all 3 sports. Hopefully that will still include a few pr’s along the way and solid placements in my age group. However, the true success of this season, will not be revealed until many years from now.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Calvin Coolidge