Practice what you preach!
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George Papadakos - Tales in Triathlon
For those of you that have children, we as parents live to make sure our kids grow up to be great. We want the best for our kids in life and sometimes we focus so much on them that we forget about us.
Last week my daughter Zoey raced a triathlon in Mississauga, and did an awesome job. I was so proud of her and how well she raced. Now I didn't go out and try and get some endorsement deals for her, but on the way home we talked about how good anyone can be… if you want it.
In triathlon, to be good, you need to be strong in all three disciplines. Races can't be won by just a strong swimmer, cyclist or runner. You need to have balance. So one of the things that we talked about on the way home was how do you get faster?
To my daughter, I answered, "with lots of hard work… that no one wants to do."
If you want to race fast, you have to train at your race pace, if not faster. These types of workouts are not fun, at all. They require a lot of discipline, perseverance and dedication.
The other main ingredient in this equation is patience. You see, these workouts demand a lot from your body both physically and mentally, and sometimes you don't see the results for weeks or even months.
But don't fret, they're coming and if you hang on you will soon be achieving your goals.
So lets back things up a little bit. A few weeks ago I talked about my love/hate relationship with running, and the fact that if I'm ever going to qualify for Kona, Hawaii and the Ironman World Championships, I was going to have to be a much, much better runner (like... really improve).
Now fast forward to my family and I driving down the 403. We were near Hamilton when I realized that I have been telling my kids that if you want something bad enough, you gotta go and get it.
It was at this time that I analyzed my training, my dedication, my perseverance and most importantly my patience. I had failed myself in the one thing that I had always hoped to inspire in the uninspired. For those of you that know me, I love a challenge, and I dare people to do something greater than they could ever think of because I know from personal experience you can do it.
We all would love to be able to achieve our goals in a couple of weeks or months, but lets be honest it's not realistic. And would you really appreciate the goal if it was that easy.
Thinking quietly to myself while we drove home that night I promised to be that guy. As corny as this may sound, I want to be the best I can be. Be able to look at the man in the mirror and say "damn you look good." Wake up every morning knowing that I'm a Kona qualifier. Next year I will get my chance as I race Ironman Muskoka in Huntsville.
I'll through this out there right now, if anyone's looking for something to do August 30, 2015, I would love to invite you to come witness me clinch a Kona qualifying slot, and to let you all know how much you are a part of this journey.
Until I see you a start line, train safe and have fun!