Motivated to Excel

In chapter 10 of his book 'Behind the Stare' (2012, Deeds Publishing) author Geoff Procter talks about the broad range of training devices that are available to athletes today - things like power meters, heart rate monitors, and altitude tents that let cyclists and runners simulate the thin air of high elevations.

He also notes that the most underrated key to becoming the best athlete that you can be is simply motivation - something that can't be purchased.

"You have to execute," says Procter. "You have to get out the door and you have to hurt even when no one’s watching."

Executing the training plan as designed and pushing yourself through hard workouts without a daily audience is something that is internal and can't be bought.

This self-motivated drive to excel is what separates casual participants from serious contenders in almost every sport, and is what enables individuals with less-than-optimal genetic ability to accomplish athletic feats that more genetically-talented people sometimes don't achieve.

If you examined the heart rate data from many people's workouts, you would see that most of their workout time day after day is in HR zone 2 and possibly the lower part of zone 3 ( approximately 60-75% of maximum heart rate).

This effort range is fun, very moderate related to intensity and is easy enough that you can carry on a conversation while working out.

You might also notice that (based on their social media posts) these casual recreational athletes focus on distance covered or time spent exercising instead of the intensity level maintained during a workout.

In contrast, although the top competitive athletes may spend up to 80% of their workout time in the 'endurance zone', it's the other 20% spent doing much harder workouts that separates the serious contenders from casual participants.

These athletes have the interval motivation to go really hard when their training plan calls for intensity.

 In the book, Procter also gives two examples of athletes whose motivation to excel resulted in extraordinary accomplishments in their sport. 

Lance Armstrong, his issues with performance-enhancing drugs not withstanding, was a professional cyclist who set new standards related to the following 'periodized' training plans.

He followed carefully-structured training plans that progressively enabled him to achieve higher and higher levels of race-specific fitness, timed to peak perfectly for key races such as the Tour de France.

His workouts included both long easy miles and brutally painful sessions such as long uphill intervals at or above his maximum sustainable heart rate on steep high mountain roads.

Procter also cited professional cyclocross racer and World Champion Sven Nys as an example of someone who has the motivation to 'do the hard efforts.'

He described on one workout that Nys does on a 3-4 minute forest circuit that includes an almost-unridable very steep climb up a sandy ravine.

"The first time we came here years ago, Sven couldn’t make it up," said his coach Paul Van den Bosch. "Now, he’s doing these explosions every week."

"When we’re training hard I have him do five laps at around 3:50 per lap, then four laps at 3:40, then three laps at 3:35, then two laps at 3:30 and then one lap flat out."

The coach also noted that when he instructed Nys to do one more lap at a very hard pace, Nys did the final hard lap at maximum effort - and then did one more 'final' lap at the same brutal pace.

The next time that you compete in a cycling or running event, think about where you may have seen the people who are on the podium that day receiving awards after the race.

Chances are they're the same people you saw doing a hard solo run, hammering fast through the State Park trails on a mountain bike, or doing painful interval repeats up a hill on a road bike.

Remember - winning athletes are those who get out the door and hurt when no one’s watching.


Upcoming Events
Oct 4: Shannon Pink Ribbon Run, tinyurl.com/pygg67j
Oct 11: Goodyear Race for Celebration, roadlizards.org
Oct 11: Christoval Vineyards Half Marathon, runintexas.com/christoval
Oct 18: Heart Walk 5K, roadlizards.org
Oct 19: West Texas Half Marathon and 5K, westtexashalf.com/
Oct 25: Armydillo 10K, roadlizards.org/events/armydillow-10k-run/
Nov 1: 30K of the Dinosaur trail race, roadlizards.org
Nov 1: Six Hours of the Dinosaur mountain bike race, angelobike.org/6hour-dinosaur