Patience

On June 17, 2007 , I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Michellie Jones, the World Champion of Women's Ironman 2006. Michellie was in town to race the Ryka Iron Girls race in Georgia and if there's ever an opportunity to volunteer and give back to the sport of triathlon, I can't seem to think of a better time than an all women's race J

The one thing that really hit home and sunk in was her advice to have patience. I would imagine that patience might not be at the top of many triathletes virtues. Michellie was explaining to me that this year (2007) is the 20th year of her competing in the sport of triathlon. I never asked if she came from a swim background, a run background or spent time riding a bike prior to her entry into the sport of triathlon. Rather, I thought to myself, "Holy cow, she's been competing directly in triathlons for over half her life."

I found this thought rather fascinating. Here is a woman who continued to improve and won Kona in 19th year of her career. It made me wonder how many of us realize the kind of time it takes to become great at anything. How long would it take to become a great doctor after graduating from high school? Answer - more than 10 years. How long does it take to become a great concert pianist? Answer - more than 10 years. How long does it take to become a skilled artist, a top architect, a pro bowl caliber football player, a top business CEO? Somehow we seem to forget to apply this kind of rationale to our own triathlon careers in our quest to obtain "immediate dominance."

Michellie made me think of another top Ironman hero of mine, Mark Allen. After a childhood swimming career, Mark competed in his first triathlon, the USTS San Diego event, a 2-kilometer swim, 30-kilometer bike, and 15-kilometer run on June 12, 1982 . Mark was a childhood swimmer and was "a natural" in true sense of the term from the beginning of his triathlon career. Yet, even being one of the real "naturals" of the sport, Mark DNF'd his first Ironman Hawaii attempt in October 1982 because of mechanical failure with his rear derailleur. His next attempts were less than desirable where he was reduced to walking 3 out of the next 5 Hawaii attempts and struggling to put it all together on race day. It wasn't until 1989 that Mark was able to secure his first Ironman Hawaii victory. Mark secured his place in history when he won his sixth title in 1995, over 13 years after his first triathlon.

It also made me think of one the interviews on Competitor Radio www.competitorradio.com with Faris Al Sultan. Within the interview, Faris was describing his early years of triathlon competition and an eventual meeting with Peter Reid back in the late 1990's. He asked Peter, "Peter, how do you get so fast on the bike?" Peter's response, "Faris, you have to be patient. It will come but you have to give it time." Faris, who was a childhood swimmer and an excellent athlete, made his first Ironman attempt in 1997 at Ironman Lanzarote in a very respectable time of 10:33 . I guess Faris ended up being patient over the next 9 years as he went on to win the 2005 Ironman Hawaii World Championship by leading off of the bike.

It's quite often that we find ourselves concentrating on how many hours of training we could stack into a 12 day training block or a 12 week training block leading up to our key race of the year. I think it would be best if we didn't think of how much training we could pack into 12 days, 12 weeks, or 12 months but rather how much training can we stack into 12 years. I wonder how many of us will have the patience of a Michellie Jones or a Faris Al Sultan or anybody else that it has taken years and years to become "an overnight success."