Genetics, Hard Work, Motivation

I listened to a podcast interview of Meb Keflezighi (http://runmeb.com/) while on the bike trainer this morning. The following is a list of his accomplishments.

2004 Olympic Silver Medalist

ING New York City Marathon Champion 2009

American Record Holder - 10K (27:13.98) and 20-Time National Champion

You can listen to the podcast at: http://competitorradio.competitor.com/2009/12/meb-keflezighi/ and you can follow Meb on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/runmeb

Meb told the story of how he grew up playing soccer and it wasn’t until middle school that he ran his first timed mile…5:22! His freshman year in high school, he had his time down to 4:18!

Yes, genetics play a great role in our competitive advantage (research tells up to 80% of our ability comes from genetics), but what Meb’s story will also show you is that it takes a lot of hard work and perseverance. He overcame great obstacles as a child to even get to the United States and become the great runner he is today. At the age of 12, he could speak no English, yet by the time he graduated high school at 18 he had a 4.0 GPA and was being courted by the Ivy League. Again, we might say that genetics played a role in his intelligence, and no doubt they did; but you also learn in his story that his parents expected much of him and his siblings. His mom and dad awoke them at 4:30am each day to finish their homework and prepare for their long bus ride to the magnet school across town.

It takes strong genes, hard work, some luck, the right push from people who care about us, external and internal motivation, sacrifice, and passion to be great. Sometimes, like in Meb’s story, we are fortunate enough to have all of them.

My training for the week:

Monday Strength and balance training

Tuesday Off

Wednesday 30 minute run with 4x20 second accelerations; 15 minutes of balance and strength work

Thursday 30 minute bike trainer session

Friday Off

Saturday Off

Sunday 1 hour bike trainer session

Kia Kaha!