when you start settling for anything thats not the best
thats when its over
thats when you can tie your shoe laces together
and throw them over the telephone wires
make them as far out of reach
because thats where your dreams and goal will always be

in this sport, its not about enjoying life
its about being the best
its about eating oatmeal for breakfast even though you don't like the taste
its about running an extra rep even though you have nothing left
its about staying at home recovering even though you haven't seen your friends in months

its about sacrifices
its about discipline
its about hard work

its about crawling and fighting your way through every set back

its about being the best

most battles are won not in the limelight of the game
they're not won when the crowd starts cheering
when the clock starts ticking
not even when you cross that line

most battles are won somewhere between the hours of self-inflicted pain and agony and the hardest sacrifices.
they are won when I'm training my guts out rather then going out drinking with mates.
they are won while i'm doing extra reps rather then complaining about the pain
they are won when i refuse to be defeated
rather then rolling over and giving up
victory is not achieved on one day
victory is achieved at every single session
victory is working harder then your competitors
victory is believing harder then your competitors

victory is only given to those who work harder then others believe is possible.

"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character."

Every minute

And if I was to be totally honest with you
I'd tell you I hate it
I hate training
I hate running
I hate competing
I hate losing
I even hate winning
I hate it all

But I'm addicted to the way it makes me feel

What I can only assume a drug addict feels
You hate what it does to you
You hate what it's doing to your life
But you can stop
Because you love the way it feels
The way it makes you feel

So you can't stop
You just sit and wait impatiently for your next fix
Knowing how much you don't want to
But also how much you NEED it.

And as much as you hate it you know you wouldn't have it any other way

Athletics is my drug

the road less travelled

Today,

Tomorrow,

The day after tomorrow

&& the next day im gone.

2678400 seconds

44640 minutes

744 hours

31 days

1 month

1 goal

Don't tell me the sky is the limit

or that i cant do it.

i'm not saying it'll be easy

but you've no right to say its impossible

you dont know the freedom of flying

or the failure in falling

or the feeling of the wind blowing in your hair

so fast you can only faintly hear the crowd

you dont know me

or what ive done

or what ive been though

or what i am capable of

you dont know the horrors of my past

or the beauty of my future.

Who are you to judge?

People often think that I'm not good enough.

Not fast enough.

Not strong enough.

Not talented enough.

Well ive got something to tell you. Who are you to judge me? You dont see how hard I train or how much weight i lift in the gyms. You dont see how much of my entire soul goes into this. You dont see my bad training days that often end in tears and you dont see my good days either. You have no idea about my training regime or how dedicated I am. You dont know me. Or how much I deserve this && who are you to tell me i dont?

You dont know how much i need this. You dont know my story or how ive worked for this every single day of my life. you have no idea what i'm capable of. I know whats within me, even if you cant see it;

yet.

I will show you how great i am.

All or Nothing.

Well it's real simple:You've got one more major comp, and thats it.

For those who've known me for awhile, and for a long time now you've been hearing me talk about being perfect. Well I want you to understand something. To me, being perfect is not about the times that you run out there. It's not about winning. It's about you and your relationship to yourself. Being perfect is about being able to look yourself in the eye and know that you didn't let yourself down, because you told the truth. && that truth is that you did everything that you could.

There wasn't one more thing that you could've done.

I don’t know what to say, really. 12 days til the biggest battle of my professional life. All comes down to one day, the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a foot too late or too early and you don't quite clear it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don't quite make it out of the blocks.

The years of training and sacrifice is all i can hold onto on that line. Its the only thing i can depend on && i have to trust that i have done more work then the others.

Train hard, win easy

"Let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith"

- Hebrews 12: 1-2

All Talk

Some athletes are all talk.

Some talk about hard work.

Some talk about winning

And some talk about achieving greatness.

Some talk themselves up.

While some may talk others down.

There is so much talk going on in a sport that needs nothing but your feet.

The athletes with the biggest mouths happen to be the people with the smallest achievements. And it sad really, thinking there words will change something.

In a sport where mental strength is as strong as physical strength, i get there urge to try and infiltrate there minds, but we're not 12 anymore. && it'll take more then that to knock me down.

I'll let my feet do the talking.

It is easier to believe than to doubt.

Along with a strong belief in your own inner voice, you also need laser-like focus combined with unwavering determination.

But at first, any belief worth having must survive doubt.

This is how humans are, we question all our beliefs, except for the ones we really believe, and those we never think to question.

I believe because it is impossible.

I believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.

I told you.

Its been a rough road for me over the past few weeks. Training has been tough, had a couple of disappointing meets. But i tried to keep the faith.

The funny thing with hurdles is that one day your race could be a mess. And the next, things fall into place and it works.

Last weekend was possibly the best weekend ive had in awhile. If you havent already gathered, i cop ALOT of shit from all these "wannabe" athletes. A couple of months ago i posted something in this very blog, it read:

People may doubt what you say

but they will believe what you do.

They have to. So let them doubt you.

Discourage you. Disrespect you.

Let them tell you that you cant do it.

Prove them wrong.

Last week, i proved them wrong.
My motivation has now doubled.

Dont ever doubt me ever again.

watch me sore.

Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you're going to be right

Here we are again. The word impossible is thrown at me again and again and again. But I've come to realize why these demons of my dreams are trying to convince me that my goals are impossible. And I ask of you now, do you know the difference between impossible, and improbable.

Impossible, adjective; not possible; unable to be, exist, happen. unable to be done, performed, effected. incapable of being true, as a rumor. not to be done, endured, with any degree of reason or propriety. utterly impracticable. hopelessly unsuitable, difficult, or objectionable.

So impossible is what? Difficult, hard, an opinion that something can not be done. Nobody said it was going to be easy. If it were easy everyone would do it, but to define a task as impossible? You might as well not even get out of bed today because life is just to hard for you. Im a huge believer in that God will never give me more then i can handle. So i can handle this. It seems impossible to you because you dont see the countless hours of dogged determination on the training field. It seems impossible for you, because God knew you could never achieve such greatness. It always seems impossible until its done

Which leads me to think that we would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

What you're thinking is what you're becoming. It all leads back to whats going on up stairs in that self-loathing mind of yours. If your mind can believe something, and i mean truely BELIEVE it, then you can achieve anything. To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, then pretend you are. Believing your the best comes far before being the best.

"I said i was the greatest even before i knew i was." - Ali

People call it impossible. Say my dreams are a joke. Jokes? There are no jokes. The truth is the funniest joke of all. And the truth is, I'm doing what you believe is impossible. Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools and it is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible. I act as if it were impossible to fail.

And one day i will fail, but my failures are my strength. Only a person who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even. I've failed millions of times in my life, and thats why i succeed.

So don't count the days, make the days count. Dont listen to a word they say. What keeps me going is goals. These impossible, improbable, unlikely, unbelievable goals. That, and proving you wrong.

Some times its fun to do the impossible, you should try it sometime.

Where art thou o' confidence.

Like a burst of flames i am now full of doubt.

Doubt is a funny thing, one minute your unstoppable, the next there is a seed of doubt planted in your mind. A weed. If you let it continue to live in the corner of you mind and it will soon spread to grow into something much bigger. It will take your confidence, your believe and your goals. Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

In this life you need to be proactive. Nothing in life comes easy. Nothing is free or without great cost. Sacrifice. Hardship. The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary! Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we often might win by fearing to attempt. Now, i never though this would ever describe me but after years of people planting the seed of doubt in my head i guess i never addressed it and it grew. Its hard when very few truly believe in you. But it ends now. A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory.

Why does it matter what people say? But if you call a cat a dog, treat a cat like a dog for long enough, that cat will start believing its a dog. horrible metaphor i know but when people keep telling me over and over and over again that i can not do something, you start believing them. and thats a very slippery slope to be on. but as they say, if you’re going through hell, keep going.

People may doubt what you say

but they will believe what you do.

They have to. So let them doubt you.

Discourage you. Disrespect you.

Let them tell you that you cant do it.

Prove them wrong.

And when you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot and hang on. Because it is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude. Hard work spotlights the character of people.

Some turn up their sleeves.

Some turn up their noses,

and some don’t turn up at all.

So many of our dreams at first seems impossible,

then they seem improbable,

and then, when we summon the will,

they soon become inevitable

My better is better then your better.

Some people listen to themselves,

rather then listen to what others say.

These people don't come along very often.

But when they do, they remind us once you set out on a path,

even though your critics may doubt you,

its ok to believe,

that there is no "cant" or "wont" or "impossible"

They remind us its okay to believe,

Impossible is nothing.

Persistence.

I would never want to be the one to admit this, but maybe its easier to be mediocre. To be average. Unspectacular. Unfortunately, this is not a path i choose for myself, however, some say that there is nothing wrong with mediocrity. Those people are quitters, people who are so scared of failure that they resign themselves to the gutter of society, and why? Simply, because their afraid. Not afraid of finding out their own limits and testing their own boundaries. Not overly scared of hard work. They're a little scared of what they could be. But mostly, they're scared if the best they have is not good enough. What if they put the most of themselves out there, not hold anything back, and still fail?

Before i make my point today i want to bring to light the career of possibly the greatest middle distance runner of our time.

Hicham El Guerrouj (comp number 2469)

Olympic career campaign :

1996 Atlanta Olympics. 1500m.

Fell with 400m to go.

2000 Sydney Olympics. 1500m.

Undefeated since his fall in 96, he was found crying in the alley way of the stadium because he knew he hadn't done enough to win. Despite being the world record holder in the event, he was ran down only meters from the line.

After the race he was in tears.

2004 Athens Olympics.

He chased that olympic dream for 8 years. through 3 olympic games. Finally he won his Olympic Gold. His games didnt end there. a couple of days later he ran the 5000m.

Which he won in impressive form. A few days earlier he had no olympic golds. he didnt accept failure. He was not content in his defeat. He came back stronger then ever. Smarter. Determined. He laid everything on the line. And he won. He the 1500m. He won the 5000m.

He now had two golds.

So, it doesnt matter if you fail. As long as you get back up, dust yourself off and try again. No matter how long it may take. Every failure leads to victory if you have the heart, courage and patience to persist, work hard and strive to be the best you can be.

Im not going to lie. It wont be easy.

there will be heartbreak.

failure.

disappointment.

Pain.

There will be times when you will struggle, and be mentally defeated.

Times where you will feel it would be easier to quit.

In those times you need to remember what it felt like to fail.

What disappointment tastes like.

You'll fail a million times. But when you succeed i promise you there will be no greater feeling in the world. it will be worth every second of pain and sacrifice.

There is nothing different between you or me, or Hicham. We are nothing but mere mortals. We we're born the same and we will all die.

He is not superhuman.

He is a dreamer.