Patience

Patience is a difficult thing to cultivate in ourselves but we become more well-rounded people if we can cultivate it well. Waiting for the things we want, in athletics and in regular life can be very hard to do. Whether you’re waiting for something trivial in the big picture but pressing in the present like a particularly slow line in the grocery store, or something more profound like the right person to start a relationship with. The rewards of patience are huge just as is the harm that can come from not having enough. With patience you can allow your body and mind to adapt to the stresses of a new or harder training program on your way to a PR or new longer distance. With patience you can allow injuries to heal instead of rushing back to training and then setting yourself back further that you were in the first place. Mental training is far too often neglected and many a gifted, determined athlete has been beaten by their own doubts.

Patience even in one workout is important. Haven’t we all skipped a last interval, lap, or set of weights because we just want to be done? Haven’t we all completely bailed on a workout too? That is no way to train in the long term. Next time you feel like skipping a last hard set, take a few deep breaths and then bust them out. You’ll feel better after for sure. In longer distance workouts, you won’t get far without the ability to measure out your effort consistently over whatever distance you’re attempting. If you’re riding a century or running a 50k, things won’t turn out well for you get bored and impatient halfway through and then kick up the pace to get done faster. You will definitely bonk and be miserable if you don’t straight up DNF or have to call a friend to pick you up. Focus on the section of the course or given mile that you are on. One crank-turn or one footfall after the next, you can beat the distance if you are patient, and that is the very heart of endurance sport, beating the distance.