"The difference between a mediocre performance and a remarkable one is usually the difference between what you know and what you do with what you know." (Mark Sanborn
I really could not be happier with how my season unfolded this year. It was a blessing in disguise to forego Ironman Cour D Alene this year. In doing so I lifted all of my fitness my markers and set PRs at many distances and even won a few races. I did this all the while healing/learning my nagging back issues that affect my long bike rides.
The quote above sums up why I was able to set PRs and win some races this year. As an athlete we spend a huge amount of time training and preparing physically for our races but that is really only half the battle. Once you’re fit you can still perform badly if you don’t execute well. What do I mean by execute? Well this is a backbone of the QT2 systems protocol and I believe it was missing in me before I came to QT2 and I see it missing in many athletes. Execution = informed and disciplined pacing, informed and intelligent fueling /hydration, intelligent nutrition decisions, and simply thinking clearly on race day while not letting emotions control you.
For me it took a while---this year the turning point for me was the Hyannis half marathon in February. I had all the numbers and information to make an informed pacing decision but I still let my emotions get the better of me because many of my friends/competitors were there and I wanted to stay with them. I knew what I was supposed to do but I didn’t do it. I proceeded to run 5:40 pace for the first few miles only to completely explode and run under potential (1:21 finish time). It was after that race that I made a conscious decision to never botch my pacing again (to the best of my ability). Thanks also goes out to Tim Snow for the “come to Jesus” meeting. At every race after that I executed as best I could and subsequently exceeded my goals.
I have wanted to break 1:20 in the half marathon for years and I didn’t do it until I learned how to execute properly. Recently I went 1:18 on a certified course-- big PR!!!!
I never had been first out of the water at a triathlon period. This year I won an open water swim race and also was first out of the water at a Shelburne sprint tri. This was from pacing properly. I used to waste a great deal of energy in the first 200 yards.
Coming back to the quote—my point of this post is that it is not always about fitness but what you do with it (execution). I’ve seen less fit athletes outperform fitter athletes because they executed better.
Now hopefully you’ll be asking yourself how can I “out execute” my competitors?
