By Mike Tarrolly, Co-Host of the Crushing Iron Podcast, and Triathlon Coach
I recently watched a video that interviewed former teammates of Michael Jordan, and Cliff Livingston said “It was like Michael already played each game through time travel and he was always coming back to teach us all a lesson.”
You always hear the saying “practice harder than you play,” and I think that’s at the crux of Livingston’s observation (although, it is entirely possible Jordan was from another world). In the same video, BJ Armstrong said, “The one thing people don’t understand about Jordan is that he never slept and he’d still practice after games with the same intensity. No one really knows how good Michael could have been, because he did all this without sleeping.”
Almost every one of his teammates marveled at the intensity he would bring to practice. He was making things hard on them and teaching his teammates what it took to win. For my money, this is where most triathletes fall short in their expectations.
For one, it’s difficult to always be intense, especially knowing triathlon is our hobby, and people have jobs, kids, and other adult obligations. But “intensity” doesn’t always have to mean hard.
For me, intensity means consistency and an appropriate effort for the day. That could be as simple as getting up after a long, tough ride, and spinning easy for an hour to flush everything out and recover. It can mean, getting that sleep we need the night before a tough interval session in the pool. Or making sure we fuel well the night before and after tough sessions.
Training is all about showing up, and showing up able to do what you’re about to do. I like to associate intensity with focus. Even something like meditation can seem intense when you’re deep into your breath and the moment. Same goes for a Z1 spin or run. How do we get ourselves deep in the moment and understand the purpose of what we’re doing?
When I think about Jordan’s intensity, it all starts with the eyes. He had a look that said, he was right there, right now, and he was going to take you to the cleaners. That. Is. Focus. He was in the moment and when we surrender to that moment, the work we’ve done in training takes over without having to think about what we’re doing.
I’ve often talked about visualization in training. I like to associate certain feelings with how and where they might show up during the race. Then, I like to figure out how I’m going to get through the pain when it matters.
For example, this hill reminds me of the one on the race course at mile 18. How will I get up it, then over it, then find a groove to get through the final 7 miles or so? I’m always asking myself, “Could I do this if I had to?” The answer is usually yes, and the more I do that, the more I am using “time travel” to understand something that will happen in the future.
Livingston also said, “It’s like Michael knew every play before it was going to happen.”
How can we take that lesson and carve out a little more greatness in each of us? It starts in with making your training (in reasonable doses) harder than what you’ll face in your race.
Mike Tarrolly is co-host of the Crushing Iron Podcast that releases on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information on our Coaching, Camps, and Community, please visit www.c26triathlon.com.
Here’s a link to that video. The clip I refer to starts at 11:36.