This is It

The 8 Keys to Success

I was lucky enough to meet Galen Rupp when he was 15 years old. He was slightly injured at the time and was doing his run workouts in a pool. The pool had a treadmill in the middle of it and Galen would run 13 miles on the treadmill. It was clear he was working towards something special and although Friday was not the end of that special it sure was special.  I bring this up because I'm sure at some point on Friday Galen and or Alberto muttered these words "THIS IS IT".

These are really easy words to say but hard to live by unless you do it every day. Each day you have something that deserves this statement. It's the most important thing you have to do that day. It's the one thing that matters most. It's the one thing if you put all into it, you will get much out of it. The problem for most of us is we live busy lives and it feels like everything is a This is It moment. But it can't be that way.

It's said for the triathlete that you can't put everything into every workout. You have to be selective. If you are not you will over cook yourself. The same is true in the business world. If you try to put all into everything you'll end up getting half of what was available. The best is to be very selective during your day, your week and your year. The same is true about parenting. Everyday is important but there are key events where This is it, where your impact will be felt for years.

Now look at your busy life. You are a triathlete, a husband or wife, a parent, you have a job and you have other priorities. What's your This is It today?

Galen knew the World Championships were not the place to go after the American Record. It would have been a great place to do it, but the World Championship races have no pacers and tend to be very tactical in nature. The Diamond league meets are geared towards performance. The Brussels meet is known for fast times in the distance events. Galen and Alberto had this race pegged for months. They turned in stellar performances leading up to the meet in Brussels but Brussels was "THIS IS IT". You can bet there were workouts throughout the last 6 months that had a special note that said something like Brussels 2011.

It's a good life...
Dave