I really love that quote. It is not a famous quote but it’s a good one. It comes from Len Bosack, the founder of Cisco Systems. In the early 1980s he and his wife helped invent the router at Cisco Systems. Without the router the Internet as we know it would not be possible.

Len was a workaholic and when asked about his work ethic he said “Commitment starts at 100 hours a week”. According to him, if you are committed to something then 100 hours per week is the minimal outlay of human effort required to show commitment.

The media tend to overuse the word “commitment” in relation to sport. Commitment is mainly referred to in relation to putting in the training sessions but to me commitment is much more that. I like to refer commitment in the Bosack sense of the word.

When you take sleep out of the week, the athlete is awake for just over 100 hours a week and for those hours they must live each hour committed to the sport. People think that international athletes train about 40 hours a week, but the reality is closer to between 15 and 20. Most athletes will tell you that training is the easy part, it’s the other 80-90 hours in the week that are the hard part.

Staying out late, having a few beers, eating what you like are all luxuries that the athlete misses out on. Personally I could train for hours without feeling I am missing out on anything. It’s only when I have to scan the menu for the healthy option, miss out on going out with my friends, or have to refuse playing other sports for risk of injury that I feel the trade-off of choosing to compete at a high level. These are the times when it is difficult and this is what requires commitment. Lifting weights and running track sessions are things that I enjoy.

What makes athletics great that it is in essence performance with zero margin for error. Turning up at the track at 98% is not an option. Being at 98% is the equivalent of finishing 8m back at the end of a 400m race. With athletics there is no where to hide, and no amount of passion, will, or determination will make up for a lack of preparation. To quote another athlete, former marathoner Juma Ikangaa:

“The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare”

Just another 3 months or so of preparation to go!

- Brian Murphy

Hi all,

David McCarthy here. As the only 800m runner in the group I clearly have to do the hardest sessions-which I’m sure the other lads will agree with!! Joking aside, I’m still in pretty heavy training doing sessions like 3 or 4 x 1000m (my personal favourite!!). Training has been going really well the last couple of weeks-my speed is good and I’m getting close to where I want to be in terms of specific 800m stuff. We had a time trial last week and I equalled my PB for 600m, which is encouraging given that it’s February and it was about 2ºC! (Not quite getting the same weather here as McKee is enjoying in South Africa!!) The 1000m runs still need to improve a bit but there’s plenty of time for that and they are going in the right direction. (more…)

As an Athlete, Valentines day and Christmas day are all the same really. We still have to go training.

I found my self in a quandary yesterday - The sun wass shining but after the sun set it dropped to freezing temperatures. Why can’t the sun shine at night?

I pack my kit which at this time of year involves three layers on my chest and two pairs of leggings. Once you get moving its fine but it is a struggle to get up to speed sometimes. No worries its good to be alive and lets” Get it done!!” (more…)