Check your ego at the door

“If you want to be a champion, you've got to feel like one, you've got to act like one, you've got to look like one.”-Red Auerbach

This past weekend my triathlon team hosted their 12^th annual indoor time trial aka “Sufferfest”. For those not familiar with a indoor time trial, you hook your bike up to a computer and ride a predetermined 9.3 mile course against the clock. It’s the biking equivalent of running a all out 5K road race. It sucks, it hurts and to say the least it is very humbling for a guy like me. Being a tight knit team there is always a lot of smack talk flying around pre and post race. Believe me when I say it almost always gets backed up as well. These guys can ride bikes, and over the years it has been what the team has been known for.

Being the “new” guy on the team and being fairly new to the sport in general these types of events are real ego busters. The old adage that no matter how good you are, there is always someone better out there, applies to this event. And despite getting my ass handed to me, this is exactly what I and a lot of other athletes need this time of year. As the long winter starts taking its toll, and those of us who love to compete and race are stuck indoors training, this is one that gets circled on the calendar.

As athletes we all have healthy egos; however the difference becomes how much of that ego you choose to reveal. Some athletes wear their ego on their sleeves for all to see and get labeled cocky. Others just quietly go about their business knowing what they are capable of but preferring to remain quiet and humble. Having an ego, however you express it, is an essential part of the makeup of a champion. To add to Red’s quote I also think you need to not only act, look and feel like a champion but you need to surround yourself with them. So going into the lions den that is the Team Psycho time trial is just what makes us all raise our game and become better athletes.

Larry Bird, one of Auerbach’s favorite players was famous for being outwardly cocky. Once during the three-point shooting contest on All-Star Weekend in 1986, Bird entered the locker room, looked around without saying a word, then finally said, "I want all of you to know I am winning this thing. I'm just looking around to see who's gonna finish up second." He won the shooting contest.

So while I made no bold declarations this year, ala Larry Legend I did get to feed my competitive urges which hopefully will keep me motivated until race season. I’ve always said that I would rather be the worst athlete on the best team, then the best athlete on the worst team and Team Psycho is just that for me. So maybe in a few years I will bust out a little cockiness and make some people worry, but for now I will be keeping my mouth shut and taking my beatings.