TRAINING: Is Talent (or lack of it) Holding you back?

I read an old Planted Runner article the other day which reminded me of the quote:

"Hard work beats Talent when Talent doesn’t work hard." It is attributed to the High School Basketball Coach Tim Notke who firmly believed that consistent effort surpasses natural ability if that ability is taken for granted or if it isn't applied diligently. Of course, having a bit of talent is useful if you are someone who likes to set yourself a physical challenge, but there is much you can do to achieve great things in the multisport arena without having what most people would

define as talent:

You do not need talent to:

• be consistent in pursuit of your goals [note how that is top of my list]

• wake up early and go to bed early [sleep discipline]

• take it easy on the easy days to allow you to go harder on the hard days

• [remember the 80:20 approach]

• recognize that scheduled rest days are as important as the hard work days

• back off when you are unwell or if you feel a niggle coming on

• do a proper Warm Up and not cut the Cool Down short

• not skip the Strength and Mobility sessions

• understand your body’s fuelling requirements and put them into practise

• believe in yourself and your ability to do hard things

The Takeaway:

Control the things you can, show up often, and progress will take care of itself.