Turning B+ into A

A friend of mine at work was talking to me the other day about her personal training session that morning and she remarked that she felt that she was not on her ‘A game’ that day, but rather a ‘B+’, now this is surprising, since this young lady is usually very positive, upbeat and energetic. But we are all allowed some off days – we are only human after all.

This comment by my friend got me thinking about some of the world class athletes that I had studied and how they manage to get over exactly what my friend had been describing. The standout for me is Kenyan Catherine Ndereba, who has often been described as being the most successful female marathon runner ever. Ndereba was not only an ex world record holder and Gold medallist at the World Championships, but she also is the only female marathon runner to have run the most amount of marathons under 2.30. However she has often remarked that her time trial times were down when she should have been at her fittest. This she excused though by acknowledging the fact that she had been training hard and that when the time came for her to race, she would be fresh again.

Ironman legend Mark Allen was another one who had similar experiences. Allen also remarked about the fact that his time trials became harder as training intensified. Experience however taught him that he need not have worried as he came good on the day and often managed to run a 2.48 marathon off the bike in an Ironman event.

Quite simply we all have our ups and downs and we will bounce back, as I no doubt believe my friend will to. Sometimes we need to just make slight tweaks to our diet or rest patterns. This can be the magic bullet to revive. In the meantime though, any form of training is still heaps better than no training at all. Keep a positive mindset and keep believing in yourself!

Running together (while bouncing back) – stride for stride on a life changing ride!