What makes a champion? Is it how many races they win? Is it how much better they are than the competition? Or is a true champion someone who can fight through the adversity and turn an utter defeat into the ultimate triumph? I believe the latter. Can anyone tell me who won the 400m men’s final in the 1992 Olympics? I didn’t think so, but I still remember the image of Derek Redmond’s Dad coming out of the stands, bullying past security guards and helping his son to the finish line..What an image!! There were 65,000 people in the stands cheering louder for a guy skipping on a torn hamstring to a last place finish than they were for the winner of the race. So you tell me who the champion is. I think there were two champions, Derek for having the courage to get up and finish what he started no matter how much it hurt and his Dad for having such a deep love for his son no one was going to stop him from getting on that track and helping his son.
Do you have an inner champion waiting to get out? I think we all have something in us screaming to get out and be unleashed. At some point in our lives we are all faced with an opportunity to quit, just bail out and live with the consequences later, the problem is that will last with you forever. Lance Armstrong says “pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever” and I agree completely, isn’t it better to battle through and finish last than not to finish at all. So the next time you’re faced with an opportunity to tap out why not dig deep, find your inner champion and conquer the pain. Don’t worry about finishing last, there will plenty more opportunities to win but looking inside and facing the demons only comes along once and a while so enjoy it, actually embrace it and you’ll be better for it. Push yourself to the edge and who knows you may be a champion too.
Source: http://www.ironmikebrown.com/
4 comments:
Hi, I just got into Alcatraz this year and found your blog while researching sharks in the bay!
Anyway, I'm also ramping up training since doing nothing since October and found this post very inspiring. All the best for your training!
-Erik
P.S. I am also keeping a blog of my training/experiences if you're interested. Web Link
Hey Erik, congrats on getting in. You're going to love it. That swim was one of my biggest fears in life, now it's one of my most incredible joys. Good luck w/ the training and send me a note if you have any questions.
Where do you live?
Cheers, Perry
Haha that's good to hear about the swimming!
I'm here on the east coast in New York. You live on the west right? No hills to train on in Manhattan :(
No hills in Manhattan. Just run some stairs in one of those tall buildings. :)
Yep, I'm on the west coast, Seattle. Plenty of hills here.
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