money in the bank

I had a fantastic track & field coach in college. He was young and inspiring. He had gone to our college and still held a couple of the college records for various events. He was a great coach because he understood what we were going through on a day-to-day basis, and he also knew how to reach us in a very personal way; sometimes that’s what makes the difference between a mediocre athlete and a great athlete – a personal coach.
Once during pre-season, he authored what I thought was an incredibly inspirational message to the team. We had just come off a really tough workout; the kind the makes you think about quitting and playing intramural sports. Paraphrasing his message, it went something like this: “Every time you come to practice, you’re putting money in the bank. Every second you put in on the track goes into your piggy bank so that when the day comes that you need to cash in and put up big, you’ve got six months worth of savings to back you up.” I’m not sure why exactly, but I found his message incredibly inspiring. I think of it often, especially when workouts get tough.

Today was a perfect example.

Today’s long run (Sunday, as usual) was 10 miles. I’ve done it before (thrice, now), but today hurt. I felt slow, sort of sore, slightly out of breath, and generally crappy. But, right around 60 minutes, I remembered “money in the bank…” and I was able to find the energy to keep on trucking. I was running with a friend, and without any preface I muttered “money in the bank,” and she responded with an understandably confused look. I didn’t bother to explain; it was more for me than anything else.

Every time my runs get painful and long, I just think about putting “money in the bank,” and about how on 15 June I’m going to need all the savings I’ve got to cross the finish line.

That keeps me going. Thanks, coach.