Battling the Storm

I once heard someone say one of three things is true. You are either:

1. Heading into a storm

2. In the storm

3. Or coming out of the storm

Which ever situation you are in right now, it goes without saying that who you surround yourself with will often dictate how you respond to the given situation. Not only is this true in life, but it carries over to the athletic field. If you surround yourself with those individuals that are negative before the pain even sets in, how much harder is it to stay positive? If you are around those individuals that give up at the the moment things start to get uncomfortable, how easy is it to give in? It is easy to be gung ho when there is no pain, but it is when you are out on a run, an interval around the track, on the hill loop, or by yourself on a long run that is when the storm really sets in. We have all seen those cartoons with the little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other shoulder. Those are the two voices that you often listen to the most. Which one will be louder? It is who you surround yourself with that will determine which one you will listen to. It is hard to be a leader and much easier to be a follower. This is true in racing, in practicing as well as life. Sometimes you have to look around at who you are training with and ask your self, am I training up to their level or down to their level. This sport is constantly about trying to push yourself to run faster and get stronger.

So if you are in a storm right now, surround yourself with people that will help you through it.

If you are heading into a storm, get ready to batten down the hatches. it too will pass, but it will try to beat you up.

If you are coming out of a storm, now is the time to build back up.

It all comes down to making our team environment one that is a positive one, and one that will help everyone achieve things that they didn't think possible.