A sports persons mentality

I was trawling through my laptop today and came across this piece I wrote for a club magazine about 5 years ago. The message is still the same, but the main player in the article has got some attention at the moment that I'm sure he'd rather not have. Anyway, here it is, enjoy.

“Pleasure? I didn’t do it for pleasure! I did it for pain!” writes Lance Armstrong about his cycling career, pre-cancer, in his autobiography “It’s Not About The Bike”. In October 1996, Armstrong was given less than an even chance of survival, and less than a slim chance of riding competitively ever again. Yet, in 1997, after a momentous fight against the illness, Armstrong returned to the saddle, got back his fitness, and went on to win the 1999 Tour de France, arguably the most gruelling endurance event in the world. His body shape had changed, a result of the chemotherapy and drugs, and so had his attitude. Had they not, the Texan would be dead. Post cancer, Armstrong was down 7kg of lean muscle, but his heart and lungs were as strong or, implausibly, stronger than ever.

Armstrong had learned the hard way in life that you never really know what’s around the corner and that if and when you collide with something, no matter how large or small, the only way to beat it is to stand up squarely and be counted. If you have read his autobiography (the first one), you’ll probably agree that it was his inner belief, stubborn determination and sportsman’s mentality that helped him beat the disease (Armstrong still attributes some of his cure to luck and, of course, to the great physicians that treated him).

Post cancer, Armstrong returned to cycling with a different perspective. On a training ride around Boone, a small town in North Carolina, high in the Appalachians, he reflected, “As I proceeded upward I saw my life as a whole. I saw the pattern and the privilege of it and purpose of it, too. It was simply this : I was meant for a long hard climb….I rode with a pure love of the bike. If I ever get a problem again I will go back to Boone and find an answer. I got my life back on those rides.”

It’s not only great athletes like Lance Armstrong who have the sportsman’s mentality. Hopefully, you will not have to face anything as severe as Lance Armstrong’s adversary, however, in any kind of crisis – be it health, work or home related – maintaining a fitness lifestyle will keep you strong. Rest assured that the determination that sees you go out and train in all weathers, week in week out, will have a positive effect on life’s other challenges. When you push weights, complete a 5km row, a two hour cycle ride, or a 45 minute run, nobody will have carried you, nobody will have physically helped you out. It’ll be your sweat, breath and muscle but, above all, your mind that did it for you. It is this sportsperson’s mentality that will come to your rescue in the most difficult, challenging and stressful of times. Oh, and of course, it will make you feel even better during the great times!