People across the country honored the memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King on Monday, 1/17. MLK knew the meaning of sacrifice. He also knew that blind, violent sacrifice would hinder the change he was after. The sacrifice needed was nonviolent, unique, & patient…yet strong. Suffering & sacrifice often go hand in hand. But it’s important to recognize that the suffering we choose to endure & the sacrifices we choose to make often determine the outcome of our actions.

As an endurance athlete you (hopefully) know that suffering & sacrifice are what you signed up for. The sacrifices are clear: time, money & opportunity cost. The key to making the sacrifice(s) necessary is to say “No” to all the things that are not a priority. As motivational public speaker Brian Tracy once said:

“There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.“

Brian Tracy

While sacrifice is often a choice, suffering is trainable. We must choose the type of suffering we want to excel at. A common mistake endurance athletes make this time of year is they train their ability to suffer for short periods of time to the detriment of their ability to sustain suffering for extended periods of time. Ultimately, you signed up for an event that favors the development of the latter.

How do you develop this skill? By completing long, aerobic workouts on a regular basis. The suffering is not from intensity, but from the regular, accumulative volume of training. Over time, the emphasis on training your endurance will prepare you to suffer in a way specific to sustaining a pace for hours on end…and your race results will benefit from it. The fact that you showed up every day for six months preparing for an event is the real backbone of your training, not the short intervals or sexy track workouts. And, in the process of showing up every day & doing the training, you realize you are making the real sacrifice that the other 99% are not willing to make.

If you’d like to chat with Antonio about bikes, triathlon and/or training, please feel free contact him via email or phone at 208.297.7943.