Desire to match...

Another session on the bike , in the shed for 20minutes of 12sec on 8 seconds off. I didn't spew this time but very close and very light headed..

Passion is the one thing that allows us to do what we enjoy. Desire is the element that enables us to set goals. For example I desire the Shelby in the photograph inset. The idea for me then, would be to set in motion a goal and in doing create a pathway of actions that will enable me to achieve the goal and ultimately put in my hands what I so desire....

For runners, athletes and sports people alike this is what desire is about. Setting a goal and creating a pathway to achieve that goal and ultimately the desire.

In my own life my passion was running. eventually I harboured a desire to represent my country at the Olympics. I then established a goal, along with a series of smaller goals to act and check points along the way. Did I achieve my goals? Some yes, others no. Did I get to the Olympics, well despite qualifying in both 96 and 2000 the answer to that is no. In one case there were runners better than me who also qualified. In another case I pretty much ran myself out of the team.

These are obviously simple answers however if and when I looked very closely at everything that I did I could argue with myself, and believe me when I say I have, that i did not really do everything that I could have to get there. Yes I went to Falls Creek a number of times to get quality training but on the other side of this in one instant I went up there very unfit and so did not get everything out of the time up the mountain I would have got if I had been fit.

I stayed in Perth and competed mainly locally however through the support of Skilled Engineering and Kerry Hughes the Managing Director I was able to travel , often to the east to compete on a higher level. had I based myself in Victoria I may have achieved at an even higher level still. The flip side is that I may not have managed the sponsorship deal with Skilled which was largely due to my profile in Perth.

These are just a few of the things that I can sight as a form of self sabotage in achieving my ultimate goal. BUT as I have said before running was not the be all and end all for me. I loved my friends I loved the Perth Life style and I enjoyed my chosen profession. Put altogether these things made me who I am and allowed me to experience the things I wanted.

Even having a young family could be used as an excuse for ultimately slowing down, but again this is only an excuse. Mrs Wombat would argue that it is a good one. The bottom line is that being a top sports person is a very selfish pursuit and while I am extremely capable of being highly selfish I was not prepared to put in place the structures to enable me to continue at the level I was capable of. Instead I channelled my energy into my family and work.

In 2011 I am continuing to structure my life in such a way that I can achieve certain goals. I work not to sabotage myself and set myself up for failure. By doing this I can ensure that I achieve what I desire.

For readers of this blog, athletes, runners, sports people,mums, dads who ever. You need to be honest with yourself when you set a goal to achieve something you desire. Is it practical to train twice a day seven days a week if you have a family and hold down a job. Probably not, however it can be done with planning and clear guidelines for yourself.

Any athlete I have coached or helped has been told don't set a training routine that you cannot maintain. you end up becoming despondent. In my life if I have not run by 5pm then the next practical slot for me is after my kids have gone to bed and this is usually 7.30pm , problem is I have usually eaten too so this actually means I don't get out until 10.30pm. I have done this many times . Do I enjoy doing that ? No... so I work really hard to get out from work and run before 5pm.

Set yourself a goal for 2011.. The set about a pathway to achieve the goal. Believe me it can be done and by having a clear goal and set pathway the task of getting what you so desire will be all that more easier

Barrel on Wombats...