Sacrifice

"You hear a lot of comments about, 'He makes it look easy,' or 'His face shows no effort....; Come look at my face in January when I'm trail-running in Texas and I'm hurting like a dog. It's an ugly face. But I'd rather have the face then and feel good here. It's called sacrifice." -Lance Armstrong

I love this quote and it is so true. I strongly believe in mental motivation. In my opinion, it is the mental training and drive that separates athletes. It is remembering where you have been and where you are going. It is getting up at 5:00 am on a Monday morning to swim 5,000 meters. It is running 15 miles in 30 degree, sleet. It is spending 2 hours on the indoor trainer or the gym spin bike with your ipod. I am out there because my competitors are at home sleeping or resting. Come May, July, November...this will be the difference at the end of the day. I know I can beat the mental demons because I have been doing it for months. It's called sacrifice.