This is an email I sent to my team after three of their teammates qualified for the NCAA Championships.
I want you to think about something as you go into this summer of training…those three guys did something exceptional…and they did it with every piece of the puzzle you can imagine.
They worked hard. Crazy hard. 100+ mile per weeks hard. Hilly long runs hard. Long progression runs hard. Fast repeats hard. They worked hard.
But they didn’t just work hard.
They worked hard with a purpose. They did not miss one workout. They did not miss one strength session. They did not miss one double. They didn’t just show up and go through the motions…every day was important. Every day was a chance to improve. Every day was a chance to close the gap on the guy in front of them on the TFRRS list. They worked hard and they worked hard with a purpose.
But it wasn’t just that.
They changed their mentality. Each one of those guys in a private message to me expressed their desire to qualify for NCAAs. Not just hit a provisional time. Not just be closer than a year ago. They were tired of not being there and they made it to where they would be there. Every race was a proving ground. Every race was an opportunity. No one was too fast for them. No one was out of their league. They suddenly BELONGED. They suddenly BELIEVED.
And it wasn’t just their mentality that changed.
They changed the way they lived. They recovered better. They took sleep and diet and nutrition and fueling and foam rolling and stretching and all of those small things that you think don’t matter and THEY MADE THEM MATTER.
CHAMPIONS don’t happen in just those two hours of practice. CHAMPIONS form 24/7. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week.
You all can achieve what these three men have achieved (and they ain’t done yet)…but it takes all of that above.
Let’s make some changes this summer. Let’s make some improvements in all of that listed above. Let’s all become CHAMPIONS.
Phillips Running 