Seeing results is what we train for right? Seeing that our hard work has paid off, that the training you put into the bank has gained a little interest and cashed out better than you expected. Personally, it's a happy time for me, but why is it so exciting? We know that the more we train, the more we dedicate ourselves the more we can expect out of ourselves.
So this uncertainty, the nerves you feel before a hard time trial or race, it always lingers there in the back of your mind..."was my training enough, did I over train, was that all I could have done?" It's what drives us, makes us hunger for more, expecting that there's always room to move towards the perfect training plan. Even though one doesn't exist. In the cheesiest way possible, perfection is our goal when pursuing something with all of our efforts.
I've always struggled with the old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it," I'm a tinkerer at heart I like to adjust and see what happens find out why. Most times this comes back to bite me in the ass because what I was doing was fine, but what I've learned about myself from this is that If I don't learn it the hard way, I won't learn it at all. The trick then, is to remember it and implement it. Use what I've learned to not make the same mistake five times over. Recently I've realized something that I have always done with the coming of positive results that exceed my expectations.
I back off. "Oh I'm already ahead of where I thought I would be. I can slack off on my diet, maybe miss a workout it's not the end of the world."
Why do we do that? (I say we, because I assume out of the millions of other athletes, triathletes, or even people in the world I can not be the only one who has noticed this) It's something that you have to learn over time, and I'm very happy that I started pursuing goals larger than myself early rather than later.
My speculation to this question is this... We get caught up in the physical results instead of chasing perfection. I'm talking about the "I averaged X:XXmin/mile and I thought I could only do X:XXmin/mile", or the "I was expecting to get a C- and I got a B+". It doesn't matter the context of the result but when we do better than expected we, or at least I, seem to think that is grounds for backing off, giving myself a break to meet my expectations, which happen to be lower than what I am actually able to achieve! I lose sight of the goal I made my lifestyle change for, perfection.
Many people have told me that, you don't need to worry about all of that outside stuff, just work hard and you'll get better. A direct correlation right?
In my opinion if you want the very best out of yourself, if you want to see yourself places that exceed your expectations, you should make everything you do a step towards that goal. What you eat, why you sleep, what you read. Find the parts in the most unrelated things and relate them towards yourself and your goal. See how these things can help you become better. Obviously for me this is the pursuit of becoming a faster triathlete, but everyone has their own goals and everyone who is working towards them should know that there isn't one perfect way to make them happen. Though, the basics are the same, if you're looking to be the very best you can be, put yourself in the position to be better than the very best version of yourself you can imagine.
