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Life of An Endurance Athlete - Is it Worth it?
Eric Belliveau • May 30, 2017

Finding a balance between training, work, family, friends, and life’s obligations is a one of the most challenging aspects of being an endurance athlete. Making it all work is often times harder than the actual training. So why do it? Is it worth the struggle of getting up before the sun rises to get an early workout in and returning home, even with the longer days, when the sun has gone to bed? Is it worth the 5-6 hours of IRONMAN training on a Saturday being away from your family? Is it worth the time spent prepping food on a weekend, after putting out a big training effort hours before and all you want is a nap, knowing full well what you’ve prepped will only last to mid-week?

The answer can only truly be provided by the one choosing to invest their time in this crazy world of endurance training. In my opinion, and of course, I’m biased, the answer is yes. YES, it’s worth aspiring to run a marathon, finish an IRONMAN, or compete in your first 5k. It doesn’t matter the size and scope of the event. What matters is the feeling you get when you finish something you set out to do. You worked and trained and sacrificed for that one moment when a volunteer proudly looks you in the eyes and drapes a medal around your neck. Or, when Mike Reilly, the iconic IRONMAN finish line announcer, tells the cheering crowd that “You Are An IRONMAN!”

My goal when I launched 18 Maple Endurance Training in February of this year was to bring training to endurance athletes that is unique to their goals and lifestyle. Training everyone with a “one size fits all” approach can often times miss the mark when it comes to training adaptation, recovery, individual strengths and weaknesses, and goals set by each individual. Most importantly every athlete has a story. What makes them tick? Why are they choosing to invest in the rigors of training? What makes all of this worth it when the finish line is reached?

Figuring this out as a coach is critical to your athlete’s success and to your coach/athlete relationship. It might be a hard question for an athlete to answer. I’ll be honest, as I type I’m not sure that I can completely articulate WHY i’m going back for another IRONMAN. I know how I feel when I’ve reached that point in my training when everything seems to be clicking and the finish line while weeks and months away seems so close because I know I’ve got this. But that’s me.

“What’s your “WHY”? What is going to make all of this worth it?”

I had a conversation with a client when training didn’t seem to be going as well as they’d like it to be. I asked, “What’s your “WHY”? What is going to make all of this worth it?”. I wasn’t asking for an immediate response I was asking so they could spend time sorting through the reasons why taking on such a challenge was worth it. I mentioned that I didn’t think I could completely articulate my WHY. Reason being, it keeps changing. I feel I have so much to work for and prove and achieve. My WHY on one day could be, Because I CAN! On another far more meaningful day, it’s to bring 18 Maple Endurance Training to another level of recognition. Then there is the self imposed pressure of proving that my last IRONMAN wasn’t a fluke, which I know is completely ridiculous but there nonetheless.

Here’s my point, your WHY is what is going to get you to the finish line. Your WHY is what makes all of the training and sacrifice worth it. Being an endurance athlete is more than just crossing the finish line it’s about the journey. The journey often times becomes our WHY.

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • October 7, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • September 23, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • October 7, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • September 23, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.
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