9/29: Finish Strong
One of my favorite competition stories from my youth was when a friend of mine in Junior High School challenged me in a 10k race at our annual local town festival. Neither of us had trained at all and it was over the summer where I was not active in any sports at the moment, but being somewhere around 13 years old I figured this was going to be no big deal. My friend bowed out after 5k from what I remember, but I soldiered on not knowing that at the time. All I DID know was that I left him in the dust. As I approached the finish line, I did what I always did, I put it in high gear and sprinted the last 100 yards or so. Finish strong! I was about 10 yards from the finish line when my body decided it had taken all the abuse it could, and it is where I started to projectile vomit. Yes, I left quite the "mark" before, during, and after I crossed the finish line for all those following me to see. Now, one might think that was worst part of the experience, but one would be wrong. As I desperately searched for something to drink, the only thing I could find was a cooler of that mysterious McDonalds orange acid drink that they used to have all the time in the 70's and 80's. IYKYK. As I weighed the pro's and con's of taking it or not, I'm not sure I made the right decision by actually drinking it. I think this is why I am so hard to tap via chokes, because after that experience, everything else pales in comparision to the joy in my esophagus at that point.
You see it all the time in sports where people want to showboat or gloat as they approach the finish line, only to be passed by someone they didn't know was right behind them. You see this every so often in football when receivers drop the ball a yard ahead of the finish line, making it a fumble. I, unfortunately, experienced this in the most painful way at Master's Worlds this year when, instead of just finishing strong, I let my focus wander to the clock, costing me the match.
It's very easy to let your guard down in any competition when you see the finish line. I think there is this idea that creeps in our head that we busted our ass for 99% of the event and now we want to reward ourselves by coasting across the finish line and soaking in the moment. However, those that are at the top of their game NEVER do this. If you only give 100% for 90% of an event, you will often lose to the people giving 100% of themselves for 100% of the event. Even if it seems the event is decided and you have won, continue to train yourself to push to the end. It is that repetition of ALWAYS finishing strong that will keep your guard up in those times where it does matter. So, don't let the sight of the finish line slow your effort. Finish strong, every time.
Oh, and that race I was in? I finished in about 45:00, which was 3rd in my age group ahead of a couple people that were on my schools cross country team. BUUUYAAAA!
