Being Thankful as an Athlete

Thanksgiving is around the corner and it has inspired me to write a post about being thankful in sport. Everyone who has had any success knows there are a number of people to thank for helping them get there: family, significant (and insignificant) others, support staff, race volunteers, race promoters, the list goes on and on. What I want to talk about though, is being thankful and appreciative of your own personal achievements.

As an athlete, we’re always striving to improve. For example, when I started racing, I really wanted that Cat 3 upgrade. Once I achieved that, I wanted the Cat 2 upgrade. Then, I wanted to win national events. Each time, the goal posts moved a bit further and it was easy to forget how far I had come.

For me, ignoring past achievements and focusing on new goals was a way to stay hungry and motivated. However, that type of thinking could turn a subpar performance into something that really tanked the motivation. Instead, it is important to put that “poor” performance into perspective to help you realize that it’s not the end of the world. Are you stronger than you were a couple months ago? A year ago? Chances are you’ve made progress and once you recognize that, you can get back on track to achieving your next goal.

This year it’s particularly important to appreciate your past accomplishments. Since most races/events were cancelled, the motivation to train decreased for a lot of us. But acknowledging how far you’ve come and remembering past performances can stoke that fire and build up the motivation again. And comparing basic training metrics like power and speed to previous years can help you realize how far you’ve come and keep the motivation high.

With the cancellation of races this year, a lot of folks have turned to Zwift as a means to get their racing fix. Zwift has racing categories just like traditional racing and this can lead to athletes experiencing what living in Boulder is like – there’s always someone faster than you. This obviously can lead to a lot of negativity. Most athletes though, are constantly improving from one race to the next even if they’re not moving up through the ranks. Those basic training metrics become important again as you can look back on previous races and see that progress is being made.

The athletic world is filled with ups and downs. Sometimes things don’t go our way and it’s easy to get down on yourself about it. But in times like this, it’s important to be thankful for how far you’ve progressed. Take some time and think back on some of your old goals and recognize how far you’ve come. Use that as motivation to keep improving and get back on track. And don’t forget to have some fun along the way. Thanks for reading!