Purpose

I haven't set out to write an inspirational blog, but I have set out to challenge the reason why people loose their focus and how to find that purpose. It will hopefully all make sense.

After years of training I know my outlook on exercise is very different. The fact that people still think it’s crazy to spend 5 hours in the saddle when I’m looking at Kurt Searvogel who is on track for the highest annual milage every ridden. He's having to average 206 miles each day, now that’s crazy. There is always someone who is doing more to not only push their own bodies further than they thought possible, but there are people who push the boundaries for the whole human race. Whether that’s running 100m faster than anyone ever before, ascending Alp d’huez on a bike in the fastest time, the quickest to ascend Eiger in the Bernese Alps, nicknamed Mordwand, literally translated as murderous wall or the first runner to break the 4 minute mile barrier, once thought impossible; accomplished by none other than Roger Bannister.

Of late, I’ve realised it’s not being more motivated than the next person or having more time; it’s the purpose you have. I’ve had moments of not feeling like running or cycling. Moments out on training runs or rides and just wanting to be back in the house. I’ve made the decision to sit and watch a favourite tv program instead of getting out there to train, but my purpose has never changed and that’s whats key. I believe that the deciding factor that dictates whether or not you continue to exercise/train is the purpose behind it. I believe that all emotions stem from this initial purpose. It’s what influences all the choices you eventually make. We draw on words like motivation, determination, mental toughness, emotion, but it all stems from a purpose.

It would appear that I attract what I fear. This fear constantly is in contradication to my purpose. The fear of giving up, finding that limit. At moments in long or tempo rides you can suddenly feel tired. You start to question how much you have left in you, how much more abuse you can put your legs, lungs and mind through. It is at that moment that fear kicks in. The fear of giving up. That darkness that is ever present in your mind appears to make itself known at times when you are at your weakest. It’s that purpose though that keeps you going. Every extra second that you spend spinning your legs is a greater stimulus for your body to adapt. To be out of the saddle, look down at your heart rate and see it at over 90% of it’s maximum and decide to pull over and stop would be the easy way out. You can try and control each breath, but you can’t, your mind is shouting to just give up. You start to feel too hot, your legs are now screaming out for you to slow down. That voice of doubt creeps in, that you cant sustain this, that your not good enough. In that split second all you need to do is find that purpose. Many sayings exist, my favourite being: ‘dig deep’. Thats key to overcoming that shouting that wants you to stop, listen instead to the quiet whisper to keep going. That purpose isn’t at the surface, it’s deep inside and it’s difficult to hear over the thudding of your heart, difficult to feel over the pain in your legs, difficult to see from the sweat dripping down your forehead; but when you do eventually find it, you find another gear. You have reason to push harder, to go beyond what was previously possible. Then you hear that desire deep within, it's no longer whispering, it can be heard clearly and says; “is that all you got?"

Every thought is extremely powerful. The choice of continuing whispers, it doesn't shout. This is key to remaining focused, never loose your focus. Every rep, every set, every run, ride, swim, climb, it’s all the same. Never loose focus. As you focus on your sense of purpose you’ll find excuses like lack of time, money, or motivation become unreasonable. Do we really have a lack of time or is time our greatest currency? A currency that is running out; you can never buy more time.

It’s also key to surround yourself with other likeminded people who share your purpose and don’t detract from it. This isn’t only relevant to exercise, but of all walks of life. It’s too easy to become unfocussed and allow influences to sap your energy. If great athletes like Michael Jordan, Christiano Ronaldo, Paula Radcliffe and Chris Froome all waited until they were 25, 30, 40 or even 50 years of age to find their purpose what would they have achieved? Would it be differnt? How much time did it take to master their crafts? It’s like building experience. If it was Fifa, what rating would you be? How high would your ratings of: motivation, determination and vision be? When you find that purpose It has a knock on effect, training doesn't become easier, it just makes sense to keep going.

I love number crunching post session; sometimes it helps you to maintain focus, to strengthen your purpose, to realise you're on track or just to feel that sense of accomplishment. Whatever the type of exercise your doing it’s always best to monitor/record it in some way or another. Aerobic training is one of the most difficult types of training to see progress. Perhaps after 12 weeks you run a 5k faster than previously, but unlike forms of resistance training you don’t see your muscles increase in size or week in week out find you can lift heavier weights. Adaptions are slow, in some cases they take years before they make a significant difference. Monitoring very slight change in resting heart rate, changes in sustainable power outputs or even maximum aerobic capacity. Sometimes it’s hard to see where your effort is going until you push harder than you have previously. Once again you cant loose your focus.

Very few people will ever be the best in their chosen profession. Whether it’s a sport or a more typical career, it makes very little difference to the point I’m making. You’re purpose shouldn't be to be the best unless that’s a realistic goal because your Chris Froome or Bradley Wiggins. It should however to be the best you can be. To strive to go faster, lift heavier, go longer; ultimately push further than you previously thought purpose. Some purposes to train will motivate you short term and others long term, it’s up to you to make that choice, but it all stems from making choices based on this initial purpose. Find your purpose and you have a reason. It all makes sense then.