Speech given by Michael Harlow at the 2009 USA Triathlon Mid-Atlantic Region Annual Meeting

FOUR KEY PRINCIPLES TO ENJOYING A SUCCESSFUL MULTISPORT LIFE

I am passionate about the sport of triathlon.  I fell in love with the sport at the age of 10 when I participated in my first race, and this love has grown over the years.  Now, I am blessed to share this love with others through my coaching business Endorphin Fitness.

Today, I am going to talk about the 4 key principles to enjoying a successful multisport life.  This has little to do with specific training theories but rather broad themes, which surpass sport.  With that said, these principles will make you faster, but they will also allow you to get the most out of the sport.

PRINCIPLE 1: BALANCE

The first principle is balance.  Triathlon should change your life – pure and simple.  Triathlon should make you a better person: a better spouse, parent, employee, friend, son or daughter.  Triathlon should teach you virtues that transfer over to all other important aspects of your life.  It should make you happier, and in turn, it should make the people around you happier.  If this is not the case, something is wrong. 

Too often, people get involved in this sport and neglect other areas of their lives.  They are so focused on one goal that they ignore other priorities.  They loose balance.  This does not make them a better person, and it does not make the people around them happier. It has the opposite effect.  If you achieve a PR at the expense of something greater, that PR will only have a negative impact on your life.

Thus, I urge you to keep balance foremost in your mind.  Know your priority system and build your life and training around it.  Doing so will allow you to be fulfilled with the sport of triathlon and the sport of triathlon to change your life. 

PRINCIPLE 2: CONNECT WITH OTHERS

The second principle is to connect with others.  Life is about relationships.  If we live and do not connect with others, we have not truly lived. 

To maximize your potential in sport and life, you need others to journey with you.  You need others to shoulder your struggles and praise your triumphs.  You need others to share in the long workouts and push you through the intensity sessions.  You need others to invest in you and for you to invest in them. 

Luckily, triathlon is one of the most welcoming sports.  It is a social bubble in which all are invited.  Embrace this.  Go to great lengths to connect with others.  There are tons of opportunities from clubs to coaching groups for you to meet others who share your passion.  Find these people and both of you will realize great benefits. 

PRINCIPLE 3: GIVE BACK

The third principle is to give back.  What is a passion if you don’t have a desire to give back a little of what it has given you?  There are few people who would say triathlon has not changed their life in some way.  Therefore, give back to that from which you have gotten so much.  Help another and see yourself helped exponentially. 

There are countless opportunities to give back to the sport of triathlon.  From volunteering at a local race, getting involved with your local club, sharing the sport with someone new, or investing in a youth or junior athlete.  Whatever you choose, choose to give back over and over again. 

I tell my athletes often to make sure they encourage others around them and smile during races.  This little act of giving back has been shown to increase performance in the giver as well as and the receiver.  This is only one example of how giving back can have an impact.  Jump on the opportunities to give back and watch the sport and yourself grow. 

PRINCIPLE 4: TRAIN WITH PURPOSE 

The forth principle is to train with purpose.  If you are going to commit the time and financial resources that triathlon demands, you might as well do it right.  If you have 8 hours a week to train, you can either spend those hours with focused goals or mindless training; regardless, you just spent 8 hours of your week. 

Therefore, take the time to think about the goals you want to accomplish before you begin training and then pursue these goals daily.  We all have different goals from getting in shape to winning a race.  I believe all goals are equal in their own right.  The important thing is that you recognize your goals, chart a path to achieve them, and then go after these goals daily. 

Decide on a goal that stretches you.  Ask yourself: “If everything goes right with my training, could I accomplish this goal?”  If so, this is a great goal.  If everything does not have to go right with your training, this is probably too easy of a goal.  Once the goal is set, determine what is keeping you from accomplishing it.  It may be technique, volume, intensity, or some specific variation of these.  Whatever it is, it should be the focus of your training.  Focus on your objectives daily and lay your training plan out based on them.

Training with purpose will maximize your time, make you faster, and help you find the balance of which I previously spoke.  In my opinion, it is the only way to go about training as well as life.  When we have clear goals to which we are committed, we simply accomplish more. 

Balance, connecting with others, giving back, and training with purpose – these four principles will allow you to take full advantage of the sport of triathlon while helping others do the same.  This is a life-sport, and I hope you can enjoy it for the rest of your life.  I wish you the greatest success in sport as well as life.